Book 1: Meeting Honest Red Crescent Moon
by Kerica
Summary: 1st of my series: It all started when April got kidnapped about a year ago. While my bros and I were saving her, I saw this girl who's in front of us now. Who is she? WHAT is she; turtle, cat, or human? More importantly...HOW DOES SHE KNOW US?
1. Sweet Sixteen Holloween p1

Now, keep in mind as you read this, fellow Turtle Fans, I've only seen about 12 episodes of TMNT and the RW (Real World) movie

Summery: It all started when April got kidnapped about a year ago. While my bros and I were saving her, I saw this girl who's in front of us now. Who is she? WHAT is she; turtle, cat, or human? More importantly...HOW DOES SHE KNOW US?

I decided at the last minute, while I was doing that Summery, this was gonna be written in episode-style. That means with one of the turtles (or Splinter, Casey, or April, or even me) doing a small introduction at the beginning of each chapter. Here's the key:

_**Splinter**___

_Leonardo_

**Raphael**

_**Donatello **_

_Mikey_

**Casey**

April

Nao (me)

Now, keep in mind as you read this, fellow Turtle Fans, I've only seen the first season of TMNT (2003) – I'm working on season 2 – and the 3 RW (Real World) movies from way-back-when. You'll note that I switched the series TCRI back to the movies TGRI, the fact that I mention Danny and Keno from the movies, and I also made April a reporter again. So…If they're OOC, if I mix things up, or get something wrong, know that's why.

Well, read, enjoy, and review if you want to!

**Disclaimer****: see my page here on **

Sweet Sixteen Halloween p1

**I've gotta hand it to April, she's the coolest and smartest girl I've met so far. That and she can kick Casey's butt and take names anytime…but out of all her tricks and sneaky ideas, you'd think I would have at least SOME idea as to what she was plannin' when she left me hangin' on the walkie-talkie. However, I can honestly say she truly had me stumped. **

--

April O'Neil let out a puff of air as she opened the door to her apartment. After going in and locking it behind her, she peered inside when she heard humming. A large, familiar turtle body was bent over with his head stuck in the refrigerator. She cleared her throat and set her many bags on the counter.

"Huh?" the turtle looked up and he was clad in blue, "Oh, hi April!" he greeted.

"Hi, Leo," April smiled and then looked at her watch, "8:30 already?" she shook her head as she walked around and got a black trash bag, "So, did you guys have a fight about who would pick me up for the party, or what?" she joked. She handed Leo the bag and grabbed one of the many paper ones on the counter.

Leo chuckled, "Actually, no," he answered as he watched her dump all the candy she had into the big trash bag, eventually filling it over half way, "After I finished giving you the message on your phone recorder around six, Raphael immediately volunteered. However, Donny pointed out that if anything bad happened to you while he was on protection duty, he would blame it on himself and it would be downhill from there."

"Aw, that's too bad," April commented as she poured the last bag and tied it off, "He had a good point, though."

Leonardo nodded as he sat on the counter while April put the shopping bags away, "Yeah, and then Michelangelo pointed out that him and Donatello were busy setting up. Then Splinter came out and suggested that I watch over you. Raph said he would get Casey, Danny, and Keno. Worked out just fine," he shrugged.

April laughed, "I guess it did," she agreed. She leaned against the counter, "So, tell me…You guys have been worked up about this Halloween party this passed week, especially Mikey. What's up?"

Leo laughed, "I guess humans call it their Sweet Sixteen, but Splinter says it also signifies us becoming men," he explained.

April all of a sudden felt like a teenager herself, "Oh my gosh!" she spazzed and got all bouncy, "That is so awesome!" she jumped up and hugged her turtle friend.

Leo laughed, "Calm down, April," he said and he heard the button on his walkie-talkie click a couple times. "Oops…" he slid off the counter and when April pulled away he fixed it. Since Don was working on the Turtle Cells, he and Raph had to use walkie-talkies in order to keep in touch. He looked at the news reporter, "Want me to tell you the story on how we chose Halloween as our birthday?" he asked.

"Sure!" April grinned.

Leonardo chuckled, "It's all quite simple, really…the guys and I were out exploring the city several years ago when we saw a birthday party out in the park. We got back to the den and asked Splinter why we never had a birthday, and he told us he didn't remember when he had found us and he also didn't remember his own birthday. The following Halloween we were accidentally caught outside, but people thought nothing of it. We could roam freely with no bad consequences," he grinned, "We got back and told splinter, and he agreed that Halloween would be the B-day for all five of us."

"That's great!" April said and then she was startled when Leo's walkie-talkie went on.

"Leo?! Over," Raphael's annoyed voice came through.

"Yes, Raph? Over…" Leo sighed as he held the device in his hand.

"Where ya playin' with the walkie-talkie again? Over…"

Leo laughed, "No, Raph, April spazzed out when I told her tonight was our B-day and nearly tackled me. Over…"

Well that's exciting. Over…"

"Yeah…Oh, she wants to talk to you. Over…" Leo handed the bouncy reporter the communicator.

"Hi, Raphael! Do you have Dan, Casey, and Keno with you? Over…" April asked.

"With the exception of Dan," Raph admitted, "He's down with a cold. Why? Over…"

"How far away are you all from my place? Over…"

"Not far. Maybe a couple of blocks…" he was cut off.

"Send them over then, and don't fallow them. I'll have Leo meet you where you are. Over…"

"April! What in the shell is goin' on?! Over…"

"She gave the walkie-talkie back to me, bro…Ugh!" Leonardo grunted slightly when the black trash bag April had filled earlier hit his plastron, "Hey, I'll talk to you in a bit. Over and out…" he shut the communicator off before Raph could protest and put it back in its holder.

"Take this back to the hide-out," April ordered, "Come back around…" she looked at her watch and saw it was ten minutes to nine, "Eleven? That'll give me enough time to do what I need to," she smiled and shoved him toward the window, "And don't let Mikey or the others eat all that candy!"

Leo slung the goodies over his shoulder and climbed out, "No problem," he assured and then was gone.

Casey and Keno arrived a couple minutes later, "Hey, April!" they greeted.

"Welcome!" April said happily. She pulled them inside and locked the door.

"Whoa there, what's up?" Casey asked.

"First, Keno, can you cook?" April asked the teen.

"That depends…" Keno shrugged.

"How about cakes?" the reporter pressed hopefully.

Keno brightened, "Sure!"

"Great!" April laughed, "Then here's what we're going to do…"


	2. Sweet Sixteen Halloween p2

I'm finished with season two of TMNT, and I have to say, its hilarious how Mikey won the Battle Nexus Tournament by a fluke

I'm finished with season two of TMNT, and I have to say, its hilarious how Mikey won the Battle Nexus Tournament by a fluke.

Sweet Sixteen Halloween p2

_When I left April's place and joined Raph, we both had no idea what she was planning. We told the others, and we figured since it was our birthday, she was going to give us some sort of present, However, nothing had us prepared for what she had in mind._

--

"Delivery for Miss O'Neil," someone called outside the door to the apartment.

It was around 10:30 now, and Keno had made the three cakes April had requested. There was an over-sized pizza slice specifically for Michelangelo, for Donatello a gadget of some sort, and then for Master Splinter there was just a simple, normal cake with pictures of all his sons' weapons in the corners, and in the middle was the kanji message – courtesy of Keno – that said 'Master of the Ninja Arts'.

April grinned and stood up from playing a game with Casey and Keno. She had called the best bakery in the city that could make any kind of cake. "Coming," she called to the impatient pounding on the door. She opened the door and smiled at the delivery guy, "Thank you so much," she said and handed him the money and took the two packages. She shut the door and then took the two cakes to the game table, "Alright, guys take a look." She grinned and popped off the lid off one.

"Whoa!" Keno said in awe.

"That's totally sweet!" Casey grinned.

The cake meant for Raphael was in the stile of his twin Sai. It looked almost realistic, and written in red down the middle of one Sai, was written the turtle's full name and on the other Sai was 'Sweet 16 Halloween'.

April put the lid back on that one and after putting it back in the bag she popped off the lid on the other cake. This time, the two guys were speechless.

The last one meant for Leonardo was the same as Raph's, but this time it was the blue-clad turtle's twin katana. This cake wasn't as magnificent as the real thing, but it certainly was awesome. Also, just like Raphael's cake, this had Leo's full name written in blue down the middle of one katana and the other sword had the message.

The reporter put the lid back on and put it back in the bag on top of Raph's. She then put Mikey's, Don's, and Master Splinter's cakes in another bag and handed the one with two to Keno and the one with three to Casey. "You can head to the lair, Keno," she told him, "But be careful. Casey, could you make sure he gets to a manhole safely?"

"Sure thing, April," Casey nodded and went to the door, "I'll be back in five."

"I'll meet you in the shop," April smiled and watched them go. She grabbed her purse and made sure everything was locked up tight before she left to wait for Casey. When he came back in the promised five minutes, she took his arm and pulled him outside.

"Whoa, whoa, what's the rush?" Casey asked.

"I need to get a costume," she explained, "You have your hockey outfit and Keno has a ninja outfit that Splinter loaned him. The guys and the rat don't need costumes though I'm sure Mikey conjured something up anyway. I don't have anything. Come on, there's a shop nearby. We only have twenty minutes until Leo's supposed to come back."

--

The couple exited the costume shop and hurried back to the apartment. They had a few extra minutes, so April looked in the bag she had and at her outfit she had bought, "Casey…are you _sure_ I should wear this?" she asked, a bit unsure.

Casey grinned, "Definitely!" he assured, "You'll look wonderful! It's just your style, too."

"Alright…if you're sure…" the reporter nodded.

"Sure about what?" Leo's voice piped in. He smiled when they looked up.

"Uh…nothing," the reporter smiled sheepishly and hit the bag behind her back.

Leonardo raised an eyebrow, "Alright…well, Keno made it to the lair safely, and we're all waiting to see what in the world you're planning. Keno won't say a word, just that we'll love it. Mikey's already tried to sneak in a peek, but Keno's standing guard. Raph and Don…even Master Splinter has tried. I haven't only because I decided to leave, and have been roaming about until now."

The two laughed and stood, "Alright, let's go," April giggled.

"I brought the battle shell," Leo said and led them out of the lobby. The 'moving van' was out waiting in the street.

"Awesome! Now we can get there faster," Casey grinned and pulled April along.

Leo laughed and followed, and soon they made it to their destination. They parked and got out, but before they exited to join the rest they turned back, "You coming, April?" Leo asked.

"I'll be there in a minute," she held up her bag, "A costume's required, isn't it?"

Leonardo laughed, "Right. Join us when you're ready." He opened the door for Casey.

"Thanks, Leo," April nodded and then caught Casey's thumbs-up. She smiled in response.

"No prob," Leo said and the door shut. He also caught Casey's thumbs-up before he had a chance to put it down, "What's that for?" he asked.

"Um…" Casey put his hands behind his back, "Nothin'…"

"Mm-hmm…" Leo narrowed his hazel eyes a tad bit and then rolled them in defeat. He would just have to wait…

--

"Hey, guys! Here I am!" April called as she opened the door and she finally entered the lair.

"APRIL!" Michelangelo cried out happily.

"Finally! I'm _dyin'_ to find out what's in those bags," Raphael said pointing a Sai back at the paper bags, "Keno's kicked our shells several times, and it's tickin' me off. Even Master _Splinter_ can't get passed him!"

"Yeah, and I'm also waiting to get my hands on that candy!" Mikey said eyeing the black trash bag that Splinter was actually watching over.

April laughed, and that drew their attention back to her. They finally noticed what she was wearing…

"A black cat costume, nice," Leonardo smirked.

"It suits you," Donatello smiled.

Mikey grinned, "Better watch out, sensei, or you're gonna get eaten!" he joked.

"Ha, ha, ha," Splinter rolled his eyes.

April giggled and did a few flips to go stand next to Keno, "Very funny, Mikey," she said, "I was right, you did conjure something up. What are you…a Vampire Turtle?"

"Yup!" Mikey grinned as he adjusted his black cape for a show-off effect. He even had fake fangs to go with it.

"Quit tryin' to draw attention away from yourself, April, it's not workin'," both Casey and Raph said together and folded their arms at the same time.

Michelangelo blinked, "It never seizes to amaze me how so much ALIKE you two are!" he said.

April smiled sheepishly, "Sorry…"

"You're being modest," Splinter said approvingly, "That is good."

The reporter smiled, "Thanks, Splinter."

"Ok! Now, what about that candy!?" Mikey asked impatiently.

"Yeah, and your secret?" Raphael added.

April laughed again and nodded to Splinter and Leo, "Give Mikey his treats," she said first.

"CHA!" Mikey grinned and grabbed the bag. He took them over to Don who eagerly helped him take the bag apart and trade off treats and then make bags for their brothers and sensei, and then for their human buddies. "Alright, guys! Goodie bags for everyone!" the orange-clad turtle called out.

"Yeah!" Raph chuckled and grabbed his.

"Thank you," Leonardo took his and Splinter's.

"Thanks, Mike," Casey grabbed his and also April's and Keno's.

Giggling, she nodded to Keno and Casey once they got their bags and the two nodded back. They made sort of a barrier and blocked their friends' sights as they figured out who would take what cake. Casey grabbed Raphael's right off the bat. Keno took Splinter's and Donatello's easily, and April grabbed Leo's and Mikey's.

April glanced behind her, "Guys, could you set up a table?" she asked.

"Sure," they nodded and got to work. Soon, a table big enough for all of them was ready.

"Ok, boys, time to show you _exactly_ what I was planning," April grinned and the trio went to the table. They set each turtles' and Splinter's cakes in front of them respectively, and then they stood back.

The turtles and rat popped the lids off their surprise and they all gasped. Lids were thrown off to the side and they simply stared.

"You…" Raph started.

"You three…" Don continued.

"Did all…" Mikey kept going.

"Of this…" Leo's voice broke.

"For us?" the five asked together. Splinter and his sons were getting choked up and tears started to form.

Casey was dumbfounded, "Are you guys…crying?"

"I'm not cryin'," Raphael said stubbornly and wiped his deep brown eyes quickly but to no avail.

"You are!" Casey confirmed.

"Why are you guys crying?" April frowned.

"Only because…" Leo began.

"You guys are the best buddies ever!" Michelangelo jumped up and hugged April.

"YEAH!" the other three also jumped up and hugged their human friends.

"You're the greatest," Donatello grinned.

"We were all guessin' and scratchin' our heads," Raph said.

"It was hard to figure out what you had planned," Leonardo told April.

"But, it was well worth it," Master Splinter finished. He glanced back down at his cake and smiled at Keno for the message before saying, "Let us eat, my sons."

"Alright!" Mikey laughed and looked at his as he and the others sat back down, "It almost looks too good to eat," he commented, then grinned and grabbed up his fork, "Key word: ALMOST!" he started devouring his cake, Raphael taking his cue fallowed by the last two brothers.

The human trio laughed and sat down, Splinter sharing pieces with them before he, too, dug in.


	3. Kidnapped

Season Five is now officially my FAVORITE season of TMNT

Season five is now officially my FAVORITE season of TMNT!! I just love the whole tattoo thing and the way the four of them turn into DRAGONS!! Totally SWEET! I have a dragon fetish, so this was awesome!

Note 1: Since watching the episodes and finding that cool lair they had before was destroyed, I went back into ch2 and edited it. I kept the 'manhole' part, though, since I can't figure out another way to fix it, and I know April had a Cat costume in the 'All Hollow's Thieves' episode, but let's just say she got a new one.

Note 2: After finished watching season five, my hope for being able to use magic has been answered. So, don't be surprised to see a lot of magic in this fanfic

Kidnapped

**I've roamed the streets alone at night during Halloween before. I didn't think nothin' of it, figurin' automatically that everyone else had, too. But that's gotta be the STUPIDEST thing I've EVER thought in my LIFE! And…it just might cost…April's life…**

--

"Atsushi-kohai," hissed a female voice as a shadow appeared and crouched behind two other figures in the night that were the streets below. "Why is Daisuke-kohai sleeping?" the growled question came.

Atsushi didn't move from his spot watching the streets with his binoculars, though the Foot ninja did flinch, "We've been switching back and forth every half hour since 11:15 in order to preserve strength, Azami-sama."

"Fine. Status report," she ordered.

"None of the turtle friends that were with Blue have been seen since they disappeared at 11:10," Atsushi said, "We lost track of them right around here, so they should appear when they come back."

"Very well," a soft glow came from two slits for eyes and then as it widened and then stopped menacing green cat eyes were seen, "Atsushi-kohai, be sure to make no mistakes. We _need_ to capture Ms. O'Neil for turtle bait. Call me once you have the plan set in motion."

"Hai (Yes), Azami-sama," the Foot ninja replied, voice shaky with fear. In the reflection in his goggles he saw the shadow disappear once more.

--

"ALRIGHT! Whoever thinks this was the BEST PARTY _**EVER**_ say AYE!" Michelangelo's shout called through the cavern.

"AYE!" the crowd cheered. They had all finished off a game of Bob-for-Apples – Mikey the winner of course – and before that much more. April yawned, "Master Splinter, what time is it?" she asked.

Splinter checked the clock Donatello had made that was on one of the walls and answered, "It is around three o' clock, my friends."

"THREE IN THE MORNING?!" all three humans cried out in shock.

"Wow, we had a lot more fun that I thought," Donny chuckled.

"Time flies when you're having fun!" Mikey said.

"Well, since it's so late why don't we take you guys home?" Leonardo offered.

"Nah, that's ok," Casey said waving it off, "Few people are out at this time of night, we'll be fine."

April glanced around and then spotted who she was looking for. She tapped Casey's arm, "Um…small problem," she pointed to the couch, "Keno's out cold."

"You can borrow my Shell Cycle," Mikey said, his was the bike with the side-car, "I'll come get it tomorrow."

Casey looked at April and they smiled, "Sure," they nodded. "Thanks, Mike," Casey grinned.

Michelangelo shot off to start unloading his bike, "No problamo!" he laughed and disappeared behind the door.

"Yo, Casey, help with Keno, would ya?" Raphael ordered.

Grinning Casey went to grab the teen on the couch and with Raph's help they got him to the makeshift garage Donatello had formed. Mikey had just finished getting his Shell Cycle ready. Lighting Keno down in the side-car April and Casey grabbed their helmets.

"See ya, guys," Raph smirked.

"Thank you for your surprise, April," Leo said.

"Come back soon!" Mikey grinned.

"You're welcome, and we will," April said and situated herself behind Casey as he started the bike up. "Bye!" with a final wave the three were off.

--

Atsushi saw the orange Cycle and kicked Daisuke once, waking him, "Get up, they've shown," he ordered.

Scrambling up, Daisuke rummaged for his teleporting device only used really to move small or medium objects like April's bag that she had laying on the still out-cold Keno's lap. Aiming it, he zapped the bag away and up there with them. "There," he said and put the device away.

"Good," doing as directed he dialed for Azami on his communicator.

"What is it?" the hiss came from the woman on the other side.

"The plan is in motion, Azami-sama," Atsushi told her as he continued watching, "Seems O'Neil is asking Casey to stop, since they're slowing down. It's set, they're parked blocks away."

A small pause and then, "Very good, Atsushi-kohai," she praised, "And that's for Daisuke-kohai as well."

"Hai," he told his partner and Daisuke nodded, pleased. Then Atsushi saw the redhead convince her ride to go on without her and he sped off, "Ah, the woman is alone now. No one is around, Azami-sama."

A small pause and then, "Alright, Yaiba-kohai has been making his way to your location with the transportation. He'll be there in ten minutes. Azami out." The line was cut.

Smirking under his mask, Atsushi grabbed the bag April had her street clothes in, and he and Daisuke jumped down right in front of the woman below. "Hello, Ms. O'Neil," he greeted.

April got in a defensive stance, _'Typical…Foot ninja…And I told Casey I would be fine!'_ she thought with a mental groan.

**--With Casey and April--**

The wind hit April and she shivered as it cut right under her Cat costume, "Casey, stop for a minute, I need my jacket," she pleaded.

"Ok," Casey slowed and pulled over to the side.

April got off and went to Keno, but her bag wasn't there, "Oh! I must have left it in the Battle Shell," she groaned in frustration.

"I'll drive you back, it's no problem," Casey offered.

"No, no…you get Keno home," the reporter protested, "I'll just walk back and take Leo's earlier offer and grab a ride from the guys."

"Alright….If you're sure," Casey nodded and kicked the stabilizing stick back and got ready to set off.

"I'll be fine," April promised seeing his hesitation.

Pausing, he glanced at April, "Love ya, babe," and before she could yell at him for calling her 'babe' he drove off.

She huffed at being called that, but she then giggled in amusement and affection before heading back.

**--End Flashback--**

The ninja advanced and April spotted her bag in Daisuke's grasp, "Hey! So you took my bag!" she accused.

The distraction was enough for Atsushi to use his speed and stealth to appear behind the redhead and try and hurt her. But she reacted fast and side-kicked him in the stomach.

The two fought for several minutes before Daisuke intervened and was able to hit April over the head, knocking her unconscious.

Falling forward and into Atsushi's grasp, right before everything went black her last thought was, _'Casey…'_ and then nothing.

Catching her, Atsushi and Daisuke saw a black truck appear and after driving passed them it stopped a yard or two away. The doors in the back swung open and the two Foot climbed in, April in tow. Daisuke dropped the bag on purpose and shut the doors.

Once again dialing, Atsushi got Azami on the line as they started driving off, "Azami-sama! We have her," he said excitedly when the communicator on the other end picked up.

"Wonderful, Atsushi-kohai, absolutely wonderful," Azami praised again, "Hurry back, Azami out." Click.

--

Casey was heading home after dropping off Keno when he felt anxiety throughout his whole body. Alarmed, he stopped abruptly and after he skidded to a halt heard the few trees around rustle ominously.

"Creepy…" he muttered. Never been one to be superstitious he paid no heed to their warning message and started on his way again, although the dread didn't leave…

Unfortunately he found out why two days later when he went to the shop. Hoping to surprise April figuring she would still be asleep, he went to the back door which was always open incase him and/or the guys came around. However, it was still locked tight. Frowning, he pounded on it. It was only locked on Holidays or whenever she was away with them.

No answer.

"April! April, come on, open up!" Casey called to the window above. He climbed on top of the carefully stacked boxes that were meant for him and/or their turtle friends to climb. He peeked in the window, and found her bed was not disturbed. It looked like it hadn't been slept in for days. Trying to open it, he found it was also locked tight.

"Aw man! That creepy feelin' just made itself known!" he said and shivered at the dread slithered through his body again. He jumped down and ran to his normal bike, Michelangelo having picked up the orange Shell Cycle the evening after Halloween. Casey revved the engine and headed to the lair at top-speed.


	4. Threat

The narration is actually at the end here on this chapter…and I don't exactly think the title fits this chapter but oh well

The narration is actually at the end here on this chapter…and I don't exactly think the title fits this chapter but oh well.

Threat

"GUYS! MAJOR PROBLEM HERE!" Casey's loud shout came as he opened the doors into the turtle home.

"Casey, what's wrong?" Raphael was the first to speak up at his bud's frightened tone. He flipped off from the couch and ran to him.

"What happened?" Michelangelo asked as he and the others also joined.

"What's going on?" Leonardo also asked.

"Enough with the questions, already," Casey growled.

"Then tell us, Casey," Donatello started,

"What has troubled you so," Master Splinter finished.

He quickly told them everything.

Glancing at one another Mikey spoke up, "She hasn't been answering my phone calls."

Raph had to make a remark, "That's because you're too annoying to listen to, shell-for-brains."

"She hasn't replied to my e-mails or my tries to connect with her on my computer, either," Donny said.

Raph's smirk faded quickly into a frown.

Mikey would have laughed at him, but this was April they were talking about, "April always replies to Don…"

Leo frowned deeply, "In my meditation, I've been sensing that something is not quite right. Do you think this might be the reason behind that, sensei?" he asked Splinter.

The rat also frowned, "Yes, my son. I, too, have sensed something amiss."

"Then that settles it! Something happened to April!" Casey punched his hand.

"But what?" Leo looked at Casey, "I know you're upset, but the news will be on at nine. Let's wait one more hour and see what's on," he reasoned.

He hesitated a moment, but then Casey nodded with a sigh.

"Don't worry, we'll find out what's goin' on soon enough," Raph assured.

"We always do!" Mikey grinned.

With a small smile as a token of gratitude to their efforts, Casey nodded.

Then all the turtle's Shell Cells vibrated and Don grinned, "Maybe we won't have to wait another hour," he said and answered his followed by the rest of his family. "Hello? April?" he asked.

"I do hope I pressed the right button…all of you are on, correct?" a female Japanese accent asked.

"Um…if by all you mean my three brothers and I then hai," Leonardo answered.

"Ah, an in-control voice, and you know some Japanese, you must be the turtle clad in blue…"

"Who are you?" Raph growled.

"Azami…you have a temper, so you must be the turtle clad in red…"

"Hey, Azami lady, do you have our friend, April? She has red hair; fights like a ninja…ring any bells?" Mikey asked.

"You mean O'Neil, turtle clad in orange? Hai, I have her," Azami answered calmly.

"Why did you capture April?" Leo's own growl came.

"Isn't it obvious, Leo?" Donatello sighed, "Azami using April as bait."

"Smart, turtle clad in purple…" Azami praised.

"Hey! We have names, ya know!" Raphael snapped.

Silence.

Michelangelo raised an eyebrow, "Uh…You're gonna have to forgive my bro, he's just a _little_ ticked off…"

"A _little_ ticked off?! I'm A LOT ticked off!" Raph countered.

"Calm down, Raph! We're not getting anywhere," Leo hissed dangerously and Raph shut up.

Azami gave a small laugh, "Would you like to get somewhere, Leo-kun?"

Leo blinked, "Hai," he answered, "That would be nice."

"I honestly would have thought you would have tried looking for your friend before today, maybe you don't care enough to notice when she's gone?" Azami's silent counter came.

"April _does_ have a life of her own," Leo countered back; "We figured she might be busy…"

"Busy? But Leo, she always tells us before-hand when she'll be busy," Mikey said.

"Maybe I shouldn't let you get anywhere…Listening to you four is quite amusing…"

"Amusin'! What the shell…why I otta…" Raphael made a fist in frustration.

Donatello was the one who actually hissed, "Raphael!" once again, Raph shut up.

"Way to go, Raph, you just proved her point," Mikey joked.

"Mikey…" Leonardo said in a warning tone.

Azami gave another laugh, "Well said, Mikey-kun…Oh, I didn't reply to you, Leo-kun, forgive me. Let's see…she has a life of her own?" now her voice went from sweet and conversational to wicked and deceiving in an instant.

"Hai…" Leo replied, narrowing his hazel eyes. Now he and his brothers were on-guard.

"Well…" there was a pause and then whimpering, "She won't have much of a life, soon…" a sound of a slash, screams, and blood splattering came.

Silence.

"What?! What'd she say?!" Casey tried to ask, but was ignored.

"Ooo, I can hear your quick breathing, sense the fear and dread…I just wish I could see the look of utter horror on your faces," Azami said in a mix of the sweet and wicked tones. Then what she said next was total evil, "I guess I'll just have to wait until you get here and see for yourselves."

"See…for ourselves…?" Raphael's voice cracked.

"Hai, Raphael-kun," Azami replied, "Turtle clad in purple, I will leave this…contraption in-tacked so you can successfully track it to where your beloved friend is."

"I am Donatello, Azami…" Donny said absently.

"Donatello-kun, then, I will trust that you and your brothers will be here later tonight."

"Later tonight?" Leo asked.

"Hai, Leo-kun, that's when all ninja work best, is it not? In the comfort of the shadows darkness brings?"

"Oh, right…" Leo let out a silent sigh.

Raph growled low, "Listen, lady, if you've touch April at all until we get there, you're dead."

"I agree with Raph," Mikey said.

Don made a sound so Azami knew he also agreed, "Harm her at all…"

"And my brothers and I will take you down," Leo finished.

"I look forward to the challenge," Azami admitted, "Fine, I will not harm her."

"Do you swear on your honor?" Leo hissed.

Pause and then an exasperated sigh, "It's all about the honor for you…they say…my minions, I mean…"

"Do you SWEAR?!" Leonardo finally snapped, "Swear it on your honor! You're from Japan, aren't you? You know what honor means, so do you swear it?!"

Long pause, but she finally answered, "Hai, Leo-kun, I swear it on my honor." Click.

Don pulled the phone away from his ear when the dial tone rang, "She hung up."

"Now all we have to do is wait…" Leo sighed and placed his Shell Cell back in its place.

_And so, when day finally turned to night, the time when shadows cloaked every corner, every alley, the streets, and the buildings, as well as the beings that lurked in these places, my brothers and Casey – who was ready with his golf-bag and hockey mask – set off to find the one we cared for. Donatello was at the wheel taking us all to our destination…_

_I just hoped we weren't too late._


	5. Rescue

After finishing up all seasons – and impatient for season seven to come out – You will notice shortly that I made at least one

This is going to be a little long, just go with me here…

I had to add a 'Scooby-Doo' part and Raph has to have his moments too, lol

After finishing up all seasons – and impatient for season seven to come out – You will notice shortly that I made at least one change. Let's see if you can find it and tell me what it is. (I only put one change here in this chapter but I might make more in later chapters)

Rescue

I was tortured for two days, and I was beginning to lose hope of the guys finding me…but then, I heard their voices on the Shell Cell since Azami had it on speaker. My hope was renewed. When I heard that I would have to wait just one more day(light, not including night), I held on as tightly as I could.

--

After driving for more than half an hour, Michelangelo had to ask, "Donny! Are we there yet?"

"Just a few more minutes, Mikey," Donatello answered, understanding his little brother's boredom and also the anxiety that was hidden deep in the orange-clad turtle's voice. Surprisingly, the trip and been fairly quiet, with small chit-chat from the four in the back with Mikey trying to lighten the mood occasionally by annoying Raphael. "If I had known it would take this long, I would have taken the helicopter instead," Don sighed.

"Hey, guys, doesn't this place look familiar?" Leonardo asked as he looked outside.

"Yeah," Raph said as he also looked.

"I don't believe it…" Donatello frowned.

Michelangelo joined Donny, "It's…it's…"

"Area 51!!" They all shouted.

Casey scratched his head, "Area 51? What's that?"

"Only the one of the places where Bishop had his secret lab," Leo folded his arms.

"Aw man! I can't believe we came here AGAIN!" Mikey whined, "We had enough trouble last time!"

"Hold on, Mikey…" Don looked at his tracking device, "There's hardly anyone there…and besides, that's not where we're going."

"Really?! Phew!" Mikey sighed in relief.

Donatello turned the battle shell to the right and drove toward some hills and a thick tree lining. He parked after he got into a good confining bush area and all five of them jumped out, "This way, guys," he gestured and started weaving his way through the trees. Then he stopped and crouched, "There," he pointed to a mansion sitting between the two hills.

"A scary mansion…it HAD to be a scary mansion!" Michelangelo palmed his forehead. He gave a girly scream and jumped in Raph's arms and his family gasped. A freaky flash of lightning had colored the dark sky and a nasty crack of thunder sounded shortly after. Rain then started pouring down in sheets.

Raphael blinked slowly, a look of utter annoyance etched on his face. He glanced at the orange-clad turtle who smiled sheepishly. He dumped his brother casually onto the ground with a roll of his eyes.

Leonardo shook his head, "Let's go," he said.

"Now you're talkin'!" Casey tapped his baseball bat in his hand.

"This way," Donatello said and led the way.

Mikey scrambled up after his brothers, "Wait for me!"

The guys snuck up to the house, but when they reached to door Raph went to pry the door open only to have it open right up. "It's not locked?" Mikey scratched his head.

"They're expecting us," Donny noted and pulled the door open more. Slowly, carefully, they entered. Though the lights didn't flick on right away, they were still waiting for something to make everything go upside down…

And it did.

Right when they reached the stairs, Leo spoke up, "Which way, Don?"

Turning on his tracking device, it flashed and then flicked off. A sinking feeling went through the purple-wearing turtle's stomach as he tried to make it come on again, "This is not good…"

"What's wrong, Donny?" Michelangelo asked biting his lip.

"It won't turn on…" Donatello answered pressing several buttons.

"Is it the storm?" Raphael asked.

Don growled in frustration, "No," he replied firmly, "I programmed it so it would work no matter what it was like weather-wise…"

An eerie laugh echoed through the ballroom. "Of course it's not working, Donatello-kun," a familiar voice said.

Leo looked around, "Azami, is that you?"

"Yes, Leo-kun," Azami answered sweetly. Then when another flash of lightning split the sky outside the five looked up to the railing of the stairs. They saw a flash of eerie-green cat eyes before all they saw was a shadow once again.

"What won't my tracer work, Azami?" Don growled.

Azami let out a giggle, a small glow from her eyes the only indication of where she was, "This place is rigged with wires and devices so no one can find us."

"And you turned them off temporarily so we could follow the signal of the Shell Cell," Donatello sighed, "Then once you knew we were here, you turned them off again."

"Hai," Azami replied.

Casey growled, "Enough chit-chat, where's April?!"

Opening her eyes all the way, she locked eyes with the human, "You tell me, Casey-kun," she purred.

Casey froze in place, unable to pull away from the unnerving gaze. He fought, but her hold was too firm. Soon he was pulled in and in his mind's eye he saw exactly where the one he loved was. Once she let go he stumbled backwards but the guys held him steady. He looked back up but her eyes were once again mostly closed.

"You have your answer," Azami smirked, white sharp fangs gleaming in the darkness.

Raphael had listened to and watched all of this, trying to pinpoint something he was hearing. Then after he saw her fangs it clicked. However, he would mention it later because Casey started backing up and then started running.

"Come on, guys! Follow me!" the hokey-mask wearing man called and disappeared around the corner.

"Casey, wait up!" Raph tried to call as he and his brothers chased after him.

Weaving their way through the room they reached the basement. The dim light was flicked on and they saw a bunch of…

"Foot Ninja?!" they growled in surprise and got in defensive stances with their weapons.

"Leo, do you think Karai's mixed up in this?" Michelangelo asked his elder brother.

Leonardo was about to answer, but was cut off by Azami's voice.

"That disgrace for a Foot leader?" Azami sneered and the ninja parted to show.

Raphael was finally able to confirm what he had figured out, "I knew it! You're a cat!" he said pointing at the humanoid black feline.

Azami blinked rapidly in surprise, but they lost their neon green color and turned a plant green instead. She said nothing, but the smile told she was impressed. Her tail flicked back and forth behind her and her cat ears twitched.

"How'd you know, Raph?" Mikey asked curiously.

"On the phone you couldn't really hear it," Raphael replied, "But when we heard her clearly back in the other room, her voice sounded like it had that rough texture of a cat…Remember when she said 'You tell me', it sound like she purred it…"

"Nicely done, Raph," Don smiled proudly.

"Yeah, well…it was nothin'…" the red-clad turtle shrugged it off sheepishly.

Azami cleared her throat and the turtles and Casey looked back at her, "As I was saying…Karai-kohai has nothing to do with any of this. She has no honor. The moment she donned the Shredder's armor, she lost all my respect since _he_ never had it anyway."

"If you hated the Shredder, why did you work for him?" Donatello asked.

"I worked for Karai-kohai before she came here to America," Azami clarified, "The Shredder would come to Japan once in a while to check on things. I would avoid him as much as possible, and when I couldn't, I would act respectfully on the outside. However, since the eyes hold no secrets, he kept his chit-chat to a minimum and he would dismiss me quickly."

Donny thought for a moment, "Let me guess…now that the Shredder's gone and Karai has to keep things in-check here, you're in charge in Japan?"

Azami nodded, "Correct, Donatello-kun." She sighed and as if the one behind her had also had enough, there was a low moan. She stepped to the side and revealed her prisoner.

"April!" the five gasped. Their comrade was beaten, battered, and broken. Gashes, cuts, and bruises were everywhere, her costume she still had on was ripped, and her breathing was shallow.

Hearing their voices, the red-head looked up and her usually vibrant green eyes were dull though they gained a bit of a sparkle when she saw them, "Guys…you came…" she smiled weakly.

The eerie laugh they had heard in the ballroom echoed again and Azami smirked, "That's enough talk," she pointed at them, "Foot ninja, shuurai (attack)!" she ordered.

The five got in their stances and fought through the sea of Foot and tried to get to April. "Ya know…I know they captured…" Casey said as he knocked out another ninja, "April in order to…" two more fell, "Get to you guys…" and another toppled to the floor, "But, why does she need you for?"

"That's a really…" Don whacked a circle of ninja with his Bo staff, "Good question, Casey."

"Less talk more fight!" Raph said and right-hooked a Foot in the jaw, making him fly into several others.

Michelangelo kicked a ninja in the chest and sent him flying into the wall, and as he landed and did a round-house kick he couldn't help but feel as if his actions were in-time with another. He looked around briefly and kept fighting, but soon, it was like he was in another place. He could smell trees and rain…it seemed to him he was outside in the forest that surrounded the mansion, not inside the basement.

Mikey punched another ninja and sent him flying and then as he did another kick he saw a woman fighting along side him. Their movements mirrored one another, and while they fought he caught a good glimpse of her. She had intense teal colored eyes and what would be dark brown hair if it wasn't wet. He didn't know _how_ in the shell this was happening, but it was.

All of a sudden, as he made a hit with his nun-chucks, she disappeared.

"Why _do_ you need us?" Leo asked Azami.

Azami stared as she saw most of her ninja unconscious after only five minutes. _'They weren't kidding when they said they were a formidable enemy…'_ she thought as she scratched her chin in thought. However, that wasn't all she had in her bag of tricks. If it was then she wouldn't be the head of the Foot in Japan.

"Simple," out of the corner of her eye she saw the shadows move and knew that Yaiba, Atsushi, and Daisuke were on the move. Azami folded her arms, "I need your blood for an experiment." Taking that as a cue, her minions jumped Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo.

"Get off him!" Leonardo hissed and kicked the Foot ninja that was on his closest brother, Mikey, and whatever the ninja had been holding flew off and into Azami's hands instead. However, since he was distracted Leo didn't sense the black cat come up behind him. He felt a sharp pain in first his shell and then it escalated throughout his whole body.

Azami had hit him where his injury from Karai was, and then she had stabbed his arm and injected what was left of a sleeping agent before drawing his blood. She saw Yaiba, the one who had attacked Raph, stand and start to go after Mikey. The orange-clad turtle had gone to April and was working on her ankle bonds, Casey undoing the chains on her wrists, "Leave them, Yaiba-kohai!" she ordered. Reluctantly, her best ninja backed down.

Finally the blue-clad turtle collapsed beneath Azami, _'No wonder he's the leader,'_ she thought and smiled silent praise before jumping back. "We have the three we need the most, especially the leader. Depart," she ordered and watched as the three nodded and disappeared after Daisuke threw a smoke bomb. The room that had been filled with fallen Foot was soon empty as well when the smoke cleared.

Azami turned to Mikey and Casey and her cat eyes turned human, "I will help you move you brothers outside…Michelangelo-kun," she bowed. She had hacked Karai's computer earlier enough to figure out their full names.

"Um…thanks?" blinking, Mikey shrugged and then rubbed his eyes. He was feeling a bit dizzy and had a massive headache from whatever had been injected into his bloodstream. Carefully he went and grabbed the brother closest to him which was Raphael. Azami picked up Leo and Casey followed while carrying April bridal-style.

Azami was quite impressed, seeing how the orange-masked turtle fought with the sleeping agent and was able to stay on his feet. They got Leonardo and Raph out into the fresh air and after setting Leo on the grass she disappeared only to reappear with Donatello in tow.

"You need to get April to the Battle Shell," Michelangelo said to Casey.

"Right," Casey nodded and he soon vanished into the trees.

She set Don on the grass, "Your brothers will awaken at the end of the hour," she said and then smiled softly, "Tell Leonardo-kun that I was honored to meet him," she stood straight and then her eyes flashed back to cat and she departed.

Casey hurried back weaving the Battle Shell through the trees and parked it with the back facing Mikey. He jumped out and helped load the three unconscious turtles into the 'moving van'. "What was up with that chick?" he asked as he climbed back into the driver's seat. When he got no answer, he turned to look back and saw Mikey had passed out and was sleeping soundly. Sighing, he used Donatello's navigation device and drove them all back to the lair.


	6. Changed

Ok, this chapter will be fairly long like the last one was…just go with me here

All of my chapters will vary in length, but I'll try not to make them too long…and because of my smart-mouth you'll find out soon why this is rated T…

OH! Before I forget, yes the dialog is in Japanese. I was able to get a friend of mine to agree to translate the English I had written originally into her native tongue which is (awesomely) Japanese. And instead of having you guys totally lost and have you constantly go down to look for footnotes I just put the English parts in bold.

ENJOY!

Changed

After that vision I had of the orange-masked turtle that fought in-time with my own movements, I knew immediately that my life was about to drastically change and very quickly. By the Goddess was I hitting the bulls-eye on that one…I just didn't know just HOW right I was…

--

After Nao saw Michelangelo whip out his nun-chucks, she watched as he disappeared. The only think she carried for a weapon was her katana that she kept hidden strapped behind her back under her black cloak at all times. Now and again she also carried a bamboo Bo Staff, like she did now. Stupidly, since she had paused to watch the orange-clad turtle disappear from her sight, she was jumped by the legion of Foot ninja she fought.

The funny think about her and the Foot was that she was a member…wait…defiantly _**NOT**_ a member. If she was, then that would put her as one of the _lowest_ _**setsu**_ on the face of the _planet_. No, she was not a member of these low-lives though she wore their symbol on her brow in the form of a black bandana. Nao was their pet/toy…or on special occasions their 'Secret Weapon'.

So, then, why was she fighting the Foot? Simple…

**--Flashback--**

Nao came to a stop in her hike, seeing a good spot to make camp. To her delight, she had reached a clear spot in the thick forest surrounding her. It showed a beautiful view even in the darkness that the storm clouds over-head had made. Then she heard rustling in the trees and bushes and she narrowed her blue-green eyes in annoyance and looked to the left. _'Hotaka…'_ she decided right off the bat.

"Sen, zai ki sui, Kerica-kohai?" **Splendid, is it not, Kerica-kohai? **Hotaka asked.

Nao rolled her eyes. Kerica was the alias she had been using since became the Foot's prisoner, and she answered to it just like her real name since it was used all the time. Only Azami and the Elite knew her real name. Though she _hated_ being called kohai; he just did it to taunt her. Besides, everyone with enough sense knew she was of the same rank as Azami but unfortunately had to pretend to be lower in status. The asshole moving to stand next to her knew that well, but he was placed in charge while Azami and her three best ninja went to America and she just _knew_ he'd been waiting for a chance to get at her nerves.

Allowing a soft growl to simply vocalize her annoyance Nao said, "Hotaka-san, ka nai jou goku gaku ko shuu? Shi chi kou ka sore kore yuu nai ji hyou gatsu en tei shi kan toku tou i jou sai…" **Hotaka-san, why in the hell are you here? You know perfectly well that this is my once a month hike so I can get away from the fortress…**

"Ah, omoi, shi nasu ai yo en," **Ah, yes, you do love your hikes **Hotaka smiled slyly and leaned in closer.

Turning her hear away as much as she could she opening her mouth just enough a deep growl of threat was hissed in his face. Nao had to beat down the urge to snap at him and hopefully catch something between her teeth so she could mangle that 'perfection' that so defined Hotaka. "**Dan made jou iru**," **Cut to the point** she rumbled quietly.

"Aw, aru ina tawamure," **Aw, you're no fun **Hotaka chuckled and leaned back, "Shi rai jaku shi gaku you i gun tamesu Azami-sama shuu rai ki han." **I came because you are needed for an experiment Azami-sama has come up with.**

"Hoka tamesu i bun shi kuu goku ken so i, tai sugoi," **Another experiment for which I am the lab rat for, absolutely wonderful** Nao said with heavy dark sarcasm, "Naze wakaru kore matsu made kata kaesu?" **Why can't this wait until she returns?** She turned and faced him finally with a raised eyebrow.

Hotaka narrowed his eyes and a growl of his own escaped his throat, "Jaku, mana Kerica-kohai," **Because, dear Nao-kohai **he said as he grabbed her arm, "Azami-sama bou shi juu ki mata sei en kou goku shun hou kyo soku shuu oite Nihon. Shi yoku en yo ki bou, mochi shi?" **Azami-sama wants you strapped up and ready to go the moment she sets foot here in Japan. You want to honor her wishes, don't you?**

Nao's barriers broke like twigs the moment Hotaka grabbed her arm in that aggressive manner. She didn't answer his question since it was rhetorical. "Hotaka…nani chou shi ken? Tai kore kou…" **Hotaka…what are you doing? Let me go…**She struggled to get freed, trying to figure out what had set him off. She went through it all in her mind and then it clicked the moment she saw where his gaze was latched.

Her headband…

**--End Flashback--**

Yes, her headband was what had started all of this. Every single time she went out on her once a month hike – or whenever she was able to get out of the fortress – she would switch the Foot ninja symbol upside down so it would be the three-toed sign of the dragon. After realizing this, lightning flashed and thunder cracked, the rain pouring down in sheets. New barriers were built and her blue-green eyes darkened to teal. Nao had ripped out of Hotaka's grasp, dropped her hiking gear, and the fight had begun.

Now she struggled to get out of what was now becoming a pile-up. She had no luck, however, and was soon dropped to the muddy ground. She felt a stink in her shoulder and she begun to feel dizzy and lightheaded. However, when she didn't fall unconscious immediately she felt a sharp pain in her head; everything went black after that.

**--Three Days Later--**

Slowly opening her eyes which were now dark green, Nao let out a soft groan. She heard the soft click of something being connected and she tried to focus.

"Ah, tei yuu jou okiru, Nao-san?" **Ah, so you're finally awake, Nao-san?** a sweet voice asked, "**Shi gaku shutsu i san ka.** Hotaka-kohai yo shi sei hyou shou dai goku min eki kou waku kou hyou gen tou oite goku zu." **You were out for three days. Hotaka-kohai gave you quite a bit of the sleep liquid as well as a nasty hit on the head.**

Nao was able to finally see clearly and saw Azami, plant green eyes soft. They used to be a beautiful brown, but since her transformation a year before from human to a humanoid black cat they switch on and off from a neon green to the kind plant green. Wait…that's it! It all fell together in a horrifying crash-landing. She looked down and saw she was strapped down on a lab table, her black dancing pants and black kimono top ripped and torn from her fight a few days before.

A year ago – she was 16 – the Foot had captured and took control of the only Techno Global Research Institute that was in Japan. They had found that at least three ooze containers were active. One had been used when Yoshiaki had volunteered and had attempted to change himself into a wolf. He calls himself Yaiba now, changing his real name which meant righteous glory and shining luck to mean blade instead, because when he attacks he was as swift and as deadly as a blade. He doesn't change into what many would call a werewolf, but he does have the characteristics of one like the fangs, claws, speed, stealth, and agility, and he can change his whole form and _become_ a silver wolf.

The second had been used on Azami, changing her into who she is now. She literally has a split-personality…going from wicked evil and having a major sense of bloodlust and torture to being how she used to be before; sweet, kind, understanding, and loving.

The third container…

"Azami-sama…Kaesu oite goku TGRI mune…gaku fu shi?" **Azami-sama…I'm in the TGRI building…aren't I?** Nao asked knowing the answer already.

Sighing Azami nodded and stepped to the side, revealing a large glass sphere filled with the ooze. Glass tubes connected to it and they also wound down to four small containers filled with blood. Tags were on them, and they said Raphael, Donatello, and Leonardo respectively. The fourth was only half full and Azami quickly explained, "ki ichi shi kuu zou sei aya ketsu en. Tawamureru toru nochi yuu aruji go zen…" **That one I'm adding your cat's blood to. Pets take after their owners after all…**

"Shi ji Lily's ketsu?!" **You took Lily's blood?!** Nao screeched.

Azami winced, "Mochi nou, Lily's yoi," **Don't worry, Lily's fine** she assured soothingly, "Ore ji goku han shi kai oite goku utsuwa saku. Yaiba-kohai katsu yuu kaesu ban goku saku han ima." **We took the half you see in the container yesterday. Yaiba-kohai should be returning with the last half now.**

As if on cue Yaiba walked into the room carrying a small tube. He handed it to Azami and then walked out again. She put the blood into the container and then once it was full she grabbed what looked like an IV and walked over to Nao, "Hou cho," **Hold still** she said. Nao gritted her teeth in pain as the black feline hooked the IV-like thing up in her left arm.

Azami walked back over to the containers and her hand hovered over a switch, "Zen un…" **Good luck…** she whispered and then flipped the machine on. The blood containers emptied rapidly and the blood went through the tubes into the glass sphere with the ooze. The liquids mixed together and the ooze absorbed the blood and made a dark raspberry color. Slowly, it went through the tube that was her IV…

Horror filled Nao's eyes and they quickly turned a blue-grey color like they did when she was sick. She wasn't, but the twisting, turning, flipping, and squeezing of her stomach made her feel like she was going to throw up. She watched the liquid take its merry time up her tube and she got more anxious and horrified as it got closer. Then she closed her eyes when it finally reached her and started going through her veins.

The first thing she felt was the blood of her cat, Lily, reaching her heart first. She felt fangs grow and her nails lengthened and sharpened into claws. She hissed like a cat in pain when she felt the tips of ears gain a point to them. While her physical changes happened she saw all the memories of her cat. The happy and sad times, the secrets, the adventures and lazy days, whenever Nao had been harmed she would stand and protect her…everything…

Next was Donatello, the brilliant scientist, inventor, engineer, and technological genius purple-wearing turtle. He also used the Bo Staff, she noted, as his memories shot through her mind's eye. He was good with his hands, and very introspective, frequently becoming pensive over things he doesn't understand. Some would think she would have a migraine by now after hearing and seeing all his ideas, theories, and inventions, but it was quite the opposite. She was fascinated! She started to relax as she saw all of this when the memories cut off from three days ago.

The red-clad, anti-social, bad boy turtle brother, Raphael, barged into her psyche next. She knew now that his was hot-headed, strong, tough, rough-n-tumble, and alternately fierce and sarcastic. Nao also found he had an aggressive nature and that he seldom hesitates to throw the first punch. All of that rocked and rolled down through her body and her muscles, making her stronger.

Last but certainly not least was Leonardo – the blue-wearing leader – started through her mind after Raphael wrapped up in the same place as Donatello. To her delight she found he also used the katana. _'He's complex…like me…'_ Nao was pleased she was able to think straight now, but knew it would only last through his memory slideshow.

Leo is calm, with his own spice and fire when it comes to certain things. He is the most spiritual out of his other brothers, including the one she had not gained and who is called Michelangelo…the orange-clad turtle she had seen in her vision. He has a very close bond with their foster-father, Splinter, and has a strong sense of honor, ethics, and Bushido. He is a more sensitive, self-doubting being. One of Leonardo's most prominent qualities is his determination to believe the best in people, even potential enemies.

Of course, combined with all of them was the power of the ooze climbing through her veins. Once Leo's memories were through, it activated in all parts of her:

Physical changes and in her heart was Lily…

Her mind worked by Donatello…

Strength, force, and coarseness held by Raphael…

Her spirit, aura, and chakras as well as her valor, virtue, control, calmness, sense of honor, and most importantly honesty…Leonardo…

Nao's eyes snapped open and First and Last combined to give her fierce hazel cat eyes. Flexing her hands she shortened her claws so they wouldn't pierce her skin when she made fists. Focusing her strength she snapped the metal bonds, and because the ooze and blood was gone, all in her, she ripped out the IV-like thing. She watched in fascination for a short moment how she healed so it was like it was never there.

However, that was short-lived as she centered her attention on the room around her. Azami was at a desk a couple yards away, standing and staring at her wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Nao found her senses had also been heightened. She could smell the fear and terror coming from her now fellow feline, "Tei…shi ki nani shi hi, Azami-_kohai_, sai shi kan nen…guu _kou_ shi sei kyou." **So…this is what you mean, Azami-_kohai_, when you can sense…even _smell_ you victim's fear **She said in mock delight, the mock purr coming out as a rumbled growl.

Though she had the blood of three turtles, before she had even been changed she had always thought herself as a cat. Nao had always wanted to be one, had always acted like one and had even trained herself to be as nimble and as agile as them. Now one of her many wishes had come true; she was sleeker, slimmer, stealthier, more balanced because ever since she was little she had always walked on the balls of her feet.

Azami only switched her plant green eyes to their neon green ones. She switched to her evil self and attempted to scare Nao as she hissed, "Ki_kan_ shi yobu shi kohai?! Watashi hou sai ryoku mata ken jou shi! Shi gaku mu, mu tadashi hyou tei sei, san jaku!" **How _dare_ you call me kohai?! I hold more power and authority over you! You are nothing, nothing but a low life, pitiful weakling!**

The 17 year old only blinked slowly in high annoyance. The look on the Nao's face said 'Are you _**kidding**_ me?' and Azami knew she was having no effect what-so-ever. Her eyes flipped back to plant-green and she backed up a step.

Seeing she was free now to snap out, she did. Her face switched from calm, patient, yet extremely annoyed to pissed-off, "**Tei sei?! Shi gaku goku tei sei, Azami-kohai, shi gaku goku kyuu dai goku Soku nin! Shi ishi hou ryoku jou sen, tadashi shi i KI sai hou ryoku jou shi, yobu shi kohai, da shi, gaku yobu shi ichi dai sei ryou!**" Low life?! You are the low life, Azami-kohai, you and the rest of the Foot ninja! You may hold power over them, but you will NEVER again hold power over me, call me kohai, degrade me, and call me one of your minions!

Nao very slowly started walking forward and Azami stepped backward, and she never unlocked her eyes form hers. Then, she started to sing _Sweet Sacrifice_ _by __Evanescence_,

"It's true; we're all a little insane.  
But it's so clear,  
Now that I'm unchained.

Fear is only in our minds,  
Taking over all the time.  
Fear is only in our minds but it's taking over all the time.

You poor sweet innocent thing.  
Dry your eyes and testify.  
You know you live to break me.

Don't deny.  
Sweet sacrifice.

One day I'm gonna forget your name,  
And one sweet day, you're gonna drown in my lost pain.

Fear is only in our minds,  
Taking over all the time.  
Fear is only in our minds but it's taking over all the time.

You poor sweet innocent thing.  
Dry your eyes and testify.  
And oh you love to hate me don't you, honey?  
I'm your sacrifice.

(I dream in darkness  
I sleep to die,  
Erase the silence,  
Erase my life,  
Our burning ashes  
Blacken the day,  
A world of nothingness,  
Blow me away.)

Do you wonder why you hate?  
Are you still too weak to survive your mistakes?

You poor sweet innocent thing.  
Dry your eyes and testify.  
You know you live to break me.  
Don't deny.  
Sweet sacrifice."

Letting out a deep growl that sounded like a lion she pinned Azami against the wall, "Iru gaku shi tsukau?" **Where are my weapons? **she asked.

Shakily, Azami pointed back at the desk she had been at, "Hou gaku…ji en goku ki…" **They are…next to the desk…** she said.

Nao looked back at the desk and she saw her katana and Bo Staff leaning against the desk, her black cloak draped on the Bo. A smile twitched at the corner of her mouth. "Arigato," **Thank You** she said and unpinned Azami, going over and grabbing her katana first. She strapped it behind her back and then put on her cloak, clasping it with the silver broach. She tucked the hilt of her sword under the neckline and then touched her neck, "Shi hi…iru zai shi hi?" **My locket…where is my locket?** she glared back at Azami.

"Ban su ka," **Third drawer down** Azami said rather calmly.

Narrowing her eyes she knew something was up, but it would wait for now. She counted the draws and pulled out the third one, finding her silver heard locket there. The chain was simply unclasped to her delight, not snapped from it being yanked off. Nao put it on and then unsheathed her katana and grabbed her Bo; "Kakawaru yuu gaku hi sai hei, kore jou i FU aru jun kan hyou gou kyou taku!" **Though there are no more containers, this place will NOT be turned into a torture horror house! **she said fiercely and jumped up, disappearing for a moment. She next appeared crouched down, and after a second the machine was cut, slashed, stabbed, broken, and in pieces, completely beyond repair to anyone who tried to fix it. She smirked when she realized her speed, agility, and flexibility had also heightened.

Nao continued to ransack the lap, and she used both weapons to do it. Soon, things were blowing up and fires were starting. One thing she had dismembered was something that would blow the whole place up in 5 minutes and turn it to nothing but ashes, maybe a few scraps here and there. She faced Azami and sheathed her sword. The woman's face was calm, smug, and totally fearless. Whatever she had planned, she would know very soon…

Or maybe at that very moment…

She sensed four presences even before they appeared in a cloud of smoke like they always did. Nao felt her stomach fill with dread as she saw them and her fierce hazel cat eyes vanished, turning blue-grey. Her whole body felt paralyzed, she was unable to move, unable to fight. She was totally and completely at the mercy of these four…they were the late-Shredder's most skilled assassins…

They were the Elite Guard.

Nao backed up, her Bo dropping to the ground, and only one of the Elite was advancing on her. He grabbed her arm harshly, and she saw everything spin and her stomach tighten in fear before everything turned to nothing.


	7. Escape and a New Friend

I've appreciated all of the reviews so far, even though for some I think I've forgotten to reply

I've appreciated all of the reviews so far, even though for some I think I've forgotten to reply.

I will be writing plenty of other short stories because they're totally cramming up my mind and I need them OUT so…yeah…

Btw, the :minutes: is timing how long it takes for Nao to remember anything that happens after her eyes turn into hazel _cat_ eyes. I'll inform you now; they only do that when she's in a battle. When she's ranging from mad to pissed off, they just turn fiery hazel.

I know some don't exactly like first person (this is for later on), but I've been accidentally doing it for Nao on and off, so I'm just giving in and doing it for Lily.

And again, the dialog at least for the first bit is in Japanese.

ENJOY!

Escape and a New Friend

I never thought I'd have to do this, but to lose her is like losing a part of me. I lost someone special long ago…my soul-sister, who stuck with me when everyone else turned their backs, even though it cost her, her life in the end. I won't let it happen again. I just pray she will be alright and the alley cat, Raphael, will find her, or she finds him…

--

Nao gasped and hissed as she regained consciousness. She had the distinct metallic taste of blood in her mouth and a horrible headache pounded so bad she felt sick when she attempted to sit up. She guessed it was from hitting the cold, hard, stone floor of what was her cell when she was in a torture session to beat her back in line. She felt four familiar presences with her and was confused at herself when she dared to look at them.

What the hell was going on? She had done nothing wrong…or had she? These days they enjoyed nitpicking at every little flaw she made so they could drag her into this hellhole…But, she had the feeling she had done _something_…

They were surprised at the fact she was awake, but hide it well. How she felt this Nao did not know, and it made her just as shocked. "Nani zai ki?" **What is it?** She found her voice was harsh, dark, daring, hating, and vengeful. She didn't understand any of this! She was usually too fucking scared to make more than the occasional scream or frequent whimper…

:1 minute:

One of them answered, "You were only out for an hour," **You were only out for an hour** he explained. He was the one she had name Informant. The one who _spoke_ more often than the others, who she hadn't even heard talk before.

"**Ikanimo**?" **Really?** Nao asked, "Naze?" **How?** Something nagged at her in the back of her mind…

There was a long pause. Informant narrowed his glowing red eyes, "Sore shi fu obueru?" **You don't remember?**

:3 minutes:

"Iie," **No** She answered simply.

They all growled, "Boku tai ki tasukeru sore kyou se aku!" **Then let us help you with your memory!**

And the torture began.

:FIVE MINUTES:

After two minutes of that, Nao gasped as all of the memories of after she had woken up on the table flashed through her mind as clear as crystal. She started fighting back, and that lasted a few minutes. One POOFed away and the other three took her down swiftly. The one who had gone came back just as quick, and she immediately stilled in horror at who he had with him…

"Lily…" she choked, feeling her throat tighten. The black cat mewed slightly in obvious surprise and Nao felt that new side of her bubble up, "Iie! Shi fu shou ki!" **No! Don't hurt her!** she hissed and struggled in vain.

The three Elite held her down as the fourth tossed Lily in the air. He raised his weapon…and struck once while the cat while she was still in the air. She fell, a large gash on her side and a bit of her stomach. Blood spread rapidly around her body.

"INA!" **NO!** She screamed, her chi flaring out around her, knocking the Elite off of her and making them fly across the room and into the fourth. Her eyes turned into her hazel cat eyes and she just had one thought: Get Lily out and away from there. And fast. Nao was at Lily's side in the flash of a second, scooped her up, ignoring the blood, and her hands started glowing a soft gold color. The wound started healing and she made it was healed enough so it wasn't fatal anymore and sped up her heart-rate just a bit to replenish however much blood she had lost.

The gash was almost healed completely, when she heard the horn of the cruise ship that was almost gone from the docks. She left the gash open just a bit; an idea in mind, and her hands stopped glowing as if on silent command. Nao sensed the Elite POOF and on impulse her body somehow dispersed like theirs did.

However, she didn't turn into smoke. She was immediately the Wind. She saw anything and everything in the room all at once. Yet again, she didn't know how but she was able to see the Elite. They were still in Teleportation Mode, but they were hovering, waiting and also shocked. Nao smirked and flew between them, obviously unseen and they also couldn't sense her. She burst her chi again and separated them, immediately breaking the Teleportation and making them ram into separate corner of the room, one for each.

Nao flew to where her katana and Bo staff was and materialized for a second to grab them. After turning back into Wind she didn't waste any time in flying out the small, barred window and to the docks. It had only been about 5 seconds since she had heard the horn. She flew to the cruise ship, instinctively riding on the Wind currents that would carry her farther faster. Once there, she lighted down in a shadowed spot on the deck. She set her still unconscious cat down and took a deep, calming breath, but did not release herself from her Cat Mode, knowing she wouldn't remember anything for five minutes.

On the way here she had been sifting all of the memories of the three turtle brothers picking out anything and everything that included the red-clad turtle Raphael. He was the one who went out on patrol most of the time. For that reason, she had picked him, because he knew the layout of New York City, most parts he even had memorized. Another reason why she picked him was the fact he was an alley cat, like Lily was. Once she had everything she focused copies to her left wrist. She raised it and her fangs lengthened just enough so she could slice her wrist open and pour it into the slice on Lily's side.

When the last of the copies had dropped from her blood it healed quickly and she licked off the excess. Since a little bit of her healing had managed to slip through as well, the wound healed on its own the rest of the way rapidly. Lily blinked open her eyes and I heard a small female groan escape her mouth. Her eyes widened in startled shock, and then she suppressed a giggle. Every being was different; she shouldn't be surprised that that part of the ooze that made animals human would change Lily.

Nao ran a hand through the little cat's fur and her hand started to glow a very, very slight blue color. The black die she had put in Lily's fur started disappearing at every spot she touched, and soon, it was gone. Her original fur colors revealed that she was actually a white calico. Lily had two distinct orange streaks on either side of her nose and she used to joke that that's where her halo had hit when her devil horns had popped up.

Sure enough, her earlier thought came true. As soon as the fur was back to normal, Lily started changing into a humanoid like Azami, except Azami was human first. But, strangely, it started going passed that. She turned into a young teenage girl that looked about 10 years old. Her hair was knee-length, pure white with black and orange streaks, black Neko ears on top of her head. Lily's tail was black with a silver spiral going along it. Her skin was vampire-pale like Nao's, yet a bit whiter, and it was fair except for the fact she had golden-orange freckles only on her cheeks.

Lily opened her eyes and Nao gasped to find they were pure gold cat eyes with a starburst of hunter green. However, though she was 4 years old in her real age, Cats also age faster than humans, and so she was actually around 28 years old in reality. The wisdom in her bright, calculating, and highly intelligent eyes confirmed that.

"N-Nao…Nao-sama?" Lily asked tilting her head in confusion and she was startled at the sound of her new human voice, "Nani okiru en shi?" **What happened to me?**

Nao gave her a summary of what went on while she shrugged off her cloak and wrapped it around the nude girl who was close to her height almost and still rapidly growing. By the time she had also untied the red sash on her katana that was once again strapped to her back, she wrapped it around the girl's Neko ears and then also around her thick, long hair twice, tying it off that way. It was secure and wouldn't come loose during whatever activities Lily might do.

"Boku sore dai kan nani sore gaku kon," **Then you changed into what you are now **Nao finished, motioning to her now 11-year-old looking person. She took a breath and they ducked quickly as someone passed by. She looked back in the direction of Japan. It was only a mile or two away, but she had to hurry; her work there was not done in the slightest. She glanced back at Lily and bit her lip, "Watashi shin nanji shiru nani watashi iru sore en se?" **I trust you know what I need you to do?** she asked as she slipped off her locket and put it around Lily's neck.

Lily nodded, "Hai, Nao-sama," she confirmed, "Watashi i chi Raphael kou soku kou watashi kan toki watashi chaku New York. Watashi i katsu ru han kare mata kare haku kitsu sore tsuku."** I will find Raphael as quickly as I can once I reach New York. I will also stay with him and his brothers until you arrive.**

Nao smiled sadly and then hugged the young teen; "Watashi ai sore han zen fu shin…" **I love you with all my heart… **she pulled away and saw Japan was almost out of sight. She bit her lip, "Shu kai, Lily," **Take care, Lily **she wished and then with a heavy heart, she was gone; once again the Wind. She was back at the docks in 5 minutes, her eyes had changed the moment she had left the ship, and she had used the time to get here to wait for her memories to return. Once she was on the docks, Azami and the Elite were waiting. She smirked at them, her plan already running through her mind.

This would take a long time, but it would be fun and worth it. It was definitely time to rid the honorable Japan of the Foot Clan.

**--Lily POV--**

I watched my master go and leave me here on the cruise ship. The first thing I had to do was find some clothes. I would have to borrow some from the other passengers here. Of course I would give them as I grew more, since I almost looked like I was twelve. However, I needed to wait until tomorrow, since their journey as well as mine just got started. Besides, that would give me time to grow some. I probably wouldn't grow more than 4ft 8 – maybe 4ft 10 if I was lucky – since Nao was 4ft 11 and she was 17 years old. My current height I at least knew was passed 3ft 5.

For now I just tightened the cloak that was a bit big on me length wise and practiced simply walking around in the shadows. I fell a couple times, but mostly just clung to objects and walls like they were my lifeline. Learning to walk on _**two**_ legs probably would have been **much** _easier_ on UNMOVING land instead of a swaying ship. Thankfully, after about half an hour I gained my 'sea legs' and was able to walk, even run and jump easily.

Dodging from one shadowed point to the other now, I tried to work my way to the lower decks. It was extremely cold out tonight, and I wanted to get out of the freezing, salty ocean winds that burned my sensitive nose. The fact that my hair was mostly white didn't help all that much in the darkness, so I was forced to put the hood up and put it low to my eyes that sometimes flashed in the moonlight and would alert an observant human to my presence.

As I entered the deck below the top one, it became even harder to find shadows to walk along in. However, I still wasn't able to put the hood down. My rather long locks would turn more unwelcome heads to me than what I could stand. I was so used to being able to move through small spaces and weave through the feet of humans that I became increasingly frustrated as time passed without one single shadow to hide in.

Soon enough, unfortunately, one of them came up to me. She was a teenager, like what I looked like now, but she looked 17 where I still looked 12, almost 13. The growth was slowing, but certainly wasn't stopping. I was able to sense she had an intriguing aura about her, however. Something soothed me in the back of my mind that I could trust this being not to scream or go rambling off to another. She stopped me, and I felt myself impulsively tense, despite the quiet reassurance in my mind.

"Lily-san? Ki yuu sei mei, yuu sono fu?" **Lily-san? That is your name, is it not?** She asked me in fluid Japanese.

I was so startled I stepped back and stepped on the excess bit of my cloak and fell to the ground in a heap. She surprised me even further when she moved to block any eyes that would see me. My hood had slipped backwards enough that when I looked up her deep ocean blue eyes widened in fascination when she saw my golden cat eyes that had a hunter green starburst. Their gaze fell to the rest of my body since the cloak had opened up dangerously close to showing my entire naked self.

Smiling softly she took off her sweater and handed it to me. I swiftly tied it around my waist backwards so it looked like a skirt from the front and then tightened the top half of the cloak. She did such a quick swipe of her hand that I almost didn't notice that the hood had fallen the rest of the way, revealing my white hair with black and orange streaks. She herself had dark chocolate brown hair that went to the small of her waist even its high ponytail, and she had a yellow rose tucked into the band. Grinning, the bizarre human moved out of the way and I reluctantly stepped under her arm which wrapped around my shoulders in a friendly manner, and I felt strangely better immediately.

She continued to interest me as she just randomly started laughing and rambling off random words and phrases in English, and realized she was half American, half Japanese. I swiftly caught on to what she was doing and played along.

Before I knew it, I was suddenly in one of the several ladies' bathrooms that were on this deck. She drew me into the largest stall which was meant for humans that were in wheelchairs or something of the sort. I had kept my gaze on her, watching her lips move, memorizing anything and everything she said. So now I spoke to her in one of her two languages; "Who are you? Why did you help me?"

Laughing again she grinned, "My name is Bria, Knight Brianna," she answered. Bria chuckled and while the Cat take off her cloak and put the sweater on properly, she took off the dark purple skirt she had on over black dancing pants, "I'm suddenly glad decided to try something new tonight," She said absently and handed the skirt to me and slipped off her flat shoes. She smiled as I furrowed my brows, "I've always walked on the balls of my feet, so I'm actually glad for the freedom," she explained.

I nodded and put both items on. I looked at her, "You didn't answer my second question."

"I helped you because that's what I do." Noticing my confused look she kept going, "You see, I've always been captivated by the unusual, the forbidden, the night and anything that would walk in its dark depths. Ninjas, like yourself, are taught in the art of stealth, and work the best in the darkness. Vampires are actually my favorite Darkness creature."

"How does this come into play with me?" I asked.

"Because, anyone else who had seen your eyes would have been immediately afraid," Bria said, "Humans, at least the ones that I've met or seen, are afraid of the unknown. They never give it a chance, never _try_ to understand. "

I remembered what went on back in the other part of the deck, "Wait, just wait…" I stared at her and she seemed to know what I was thinking since she smiled, "The soothing and silent reassurance…that was_ you_?"

Her smile turned into a grin, "Hai," she nodded, "I'm extremely psychic by being clairvoyant, slightly telepathic, and can have precognitions, or see the future."

I was about to ask more questions, but she held up her hand. She picked up the cloak and slipped it on. It fit perfectly on her, and I noticed she was the same height at my master. My tail automatically wrapped around my waist like a furry belt. She once again put her arm around my shoulders and I noticed that they were also sheltering. I soon figured out why Bria had stopped me. As we exited the stall, another had walked in the bathroom. We easily avoided her and this time as we walked through the decks no one even glanced our way.

Brianna led me to her cabin several more levels down and I was yet again surprised to see no one else was there. "You're here alone?" I asked while she closed and locked the door behind us.

"Hai," she laughed, "My family grew apart over these passed years…My grandfather is in Afghanistan, my mother works during the night and sleeps during the day," she smiled at some unspoken inside joke, but it then faded, "And finally my grandmother is way too sick to travel do to troubles with her diabetes, kidneys, pancreas, and several other things I haven't bothered to remember."

I frowned, "And your father?"

Bria raised an eyebrow and the look she had combined with that clearly said she didn't think of the said man often. "Never knew him, never _wanted_ to know and/or meet him, and I certainly don't give a rat's ass." The smile returned when I licked my lips at the mention of the rodent. "That's right," she noted, "You haven't eaten, have you?"

"Not since lunch, iie."

She walked to the beside phone and dialed the number for food service, "Konbanwa (Good evening), I'd like to order my dinner early…" pause, "Hai, I'd like some sushi with shrimp and also a lobster," another pause, "Arigato, oyasuminasai (good night)," she hung up and turned back to her new cabin roommate, "So, what else do you want to know?" she asked easily picking back up on the earlier conversation.

"How old are you?" I asked randomly.

Bria laughed, and I found it was rather easy to make her do so, "I turned 17 on the 8th of October. Temae (you)?"

I blushed lightly, "In human years I would be four, but in reality I am 28 years old." I blinked at her when she said my age in unison with me.

She simply smiled, "Your eyes give you away, though you look 13," she told me, and I found myself saying her next words in time with her, "The eyes are the windows to the soul." It was her turn to blink.

"My master, Nao, always says the same thing," I explained with a forlorn smile.

Brianna was about to say something, but this time I held up my hand. Discovering her grin had spread to my own on my face, I grinned wider, "May I have some sleepwear?"

Bria laughed and went to her wardrobe. She sifted through and found a oversized shirt that would serve as a makeshift nightgown for what I discovered to be my 4ft 2 height. Then after handing me that she put the cloak on that hanger in place of it and also got out some undergarments. She took out a nightgown for herself and by the time we both finished getting comfortable the food arrived. I hid effortlessly while she paid for it and brought it in.

I showed up right next to her as soon as the door shut and she locked it once again, "It smells wonderful!" I grinned and grabbed the sushi and shrimp while she took the lobster.

"Now, you have to tell me about Nao…I want to know all about her," Bria smiled warmly.

I did, and that lasted until well passed midnight. She was absolutely fascinated! And, she was also very sympathetic and understanding. She let me skip painful parts, and wanted more detail on her style of fighting. I ended everything I knew with after I woke up on the ship but before Nao's explanation to me. The teen simply smiled and yawned deeply. Bria patted the spot next to her, "You can sleep next to me, but be warned, I'm a restless sleeper, so don't be surprised if you end up with a few bruises," she laughed again and snuggled down under the blankets, her hand hovering on the switch to the nightstand lamp.

Grinning her contagious grin, I and climbed over next to her and also snuggled down. She chuckled and turned the light off. We both curled up in the tight ball like Cats and before I drifted to sleep, I heard Bria say, "You'll be finishing that story of yours later, and after that you can inform me of why you're going to NYC." Of course she didn't know about all of that because I had told her, she had seen it in a precognition.

I smiled softly, "Very well…Bria-san…" With that, I drifted off to sleep with Brianna's soft laugh filling my ears.


	8. Cruise

Now, the thing about my eyesight in this chapter isn't true, though it'd be fun if it was

_Posted just for you, Wing! You know who you are!_

Now, the thing about my eyesight in this chapter isn't true, though it'd be fun if it was. And there won't be an intro to this one, sorry.

Oh, and it's still in Lily's POV, and the :minutes: are the same thing for what I did with Nao.

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything! The part about Lycanthropes and Mistrals belongs to the author of the Nightwalker series, ****Jacquelyn Frank**

Well, ENJOY!

Cruise

I yawned and stretched out my body…or at least I tried to. I found I was tangled in the blankets as well as another pair of human limbs…

I went very, **very** still…

Stretched? Stretching wasn't so bad, it was normal…but why did my normally small body feel so _long_? One point toward being freaked out…

Tangled in blankets? That edged me a bit closer. I was always curled up _on_ blankets, never tangled _in_ them.

Then, as I brought a hand that wasn't tangled up to my face, my eyes widened. I had a hand. I had a _human_ hand! Looking at my body I saw I was in the body of a _human_. I HAD _**HUMAN**_ LIMBS! I made a choking sound as I flipped out and started ripping at the blankets, trying to get free.

:30 seconds:

The human teenager that was next to me, holding me down slightly since her body was intertwined with mine, blinked open her ocean eyes. They seemed unfocused, a bit hazier compared to the brightness in them earlier.

:1 minute:

Pausing mid-thrash I stared at her and her slowly growing smile. Compared to earlier? Her name popped into my mind. Bria…her name was Brianna Knight. Little by little, as memories of our talk came back one by one, I relaxed. I recognized the soothing in the back of my head and closed my eyes, focusing on it.

Bria moved so we were free and then began untangling me. Soon, I was able to sit up. She grinned at me, "I knew you would flip out when you woke up," she told me and then swung her legs over the side of the bed. She opened the drawer in the nightstand and grabbed something, but I didn't see what. I realized she was already dressed.

"What time is it?" I asked sleepily, rubbing my eyes.

:2 minutes:

"Almost two in the afternoon," Brianna answered. She wore a windbreaker over a swimsuit, "I woke up about an hour ago, and while I was taking my morning swim I had a premonition. In it you were horrified, confused, and not remembering in the slightest where you were or what was going on."

I frowned. The fact that she had been swimming explained why her long dark chocolate hair was wet and almost looked black. I noticed it cascaded down her back in a gentle wave and it also covered her bottom now that it was free from the ponytail. "But you…" she seemed to guess what I was about to say.

"Iie, I wasn't asleep, Lily. I was faking that," she laughed and I found myself smiling. She stood and saw that the spot on the bed she had been sitting was soaking wet, and so was the area where she had been laying next to me. My skin was also a bit damp where her slippery skin had been tangled with mine. "How long ago was the premonition? And why wouldn't I remember…?"

Bria smiled, "The premonition was about five minutes ago. I practically ran up here. I even completely forgot my towel and stuff down where the indoor pool is. As for why you wouldn't remember? Simple, because Nao doesn't remember until after five minutes have passed…"

Sure enough, three minutes from when I woke up hit and it ALL came rushing back to me. Tears came to my eyes as I realized that Nao and I were separated for what I knew was going to be a long time.

"But, you're time was cut in half, it seems," she told me, "And they come to you at least little by little, where Nao it would only nag at the back of her mind."

"Wait, how do you know all of this? Certainly not from one single premonition…"

"Iie," Bria laughed, "I used my telepathy and other psychic skills while we were asleep. Though Nao was able to get anything and everything concerning Raphael, some of her own memories slipped through as well, but only of the passed few hours from when she'd been transformed to when she left you on the top deck."

"So, I don't have to explain the rest of my story and why I'm going to New York?" I asked a bit relieved.

"Iya (no)," Brianna smiled and then went to her wardrobe and took out a variation of clothes, "Here, you better get dressed. Want me to braid your hair?"

I absently reached back and touched my long white locks, "Iie…maybe you could put it in a ponytail instead?"

She nodded, "Shua (sure), but get dressed first," she nodded to the clothes. "I'm going to go grab my things, I'll be back in a few minutes," with that, she smiled and left the room.

When she came back, everything in a gym bag, I was dressed in a lavender kimono top and a pair of dark purple dancing pants as well as midnight purple flat shoes. My current height was 4ft 3, but I still only looked 13.

Bria beamed, "Nice choice," she complimented and even though I had already put the other items away she grabbed a matching outfit except this one was in different shades of green. She got a brush and after going through her long hair and putting it in a braid, she then turned to me, "Temae, nedai; dore," **You, bed; now** she grinned playfully.

I did as she told and Brianna untied the red sash, easily undoing the not Nao had made with a twist of her wrist. She made a girly squeal when my black ears went up, glad for the freedom. They twitched at the sound of her voice, which was slightly louder and more distinct. "Adorable!" she giggled and tweaked them slightly and then rubbed them. I immediately turned to jelly in her arms.

Laughing, she freed me of the spell and I sat up again. She gently went through my hair with the brush. Then she carefully put it into what she called a genie-ponytail. However, I felt like I was being suffocated and make a small gagging noise after she was through putting the band in. "Take it out, take it out!" I cried.

Bria did as requested swiftly and I gasped, filling my lungs with as much oxygen as possible. She laughed at some unspoken joke and I turned to glare at her. She bit her lip harshly and covered her mouth, but still giggled. "Sumimasen, Lily," she apologized, "But I do believe you're a Lycanthrope." I stared at her and she explained further, "I once read that a Lycanthrope can't have their hair bound, or they suffocate." One of her many grins spread across her face, "And, they can change forms. Turn into their animal form by having their super-long hair spread over their body, or they can also turn into a humanoid form the same way."

I immediately brightened, "How can I do this?" I asked excitedly.

"Honestly, I don't know…And without help you might not be able to turn back," Bria told me.

"I don't care! I want to go back to being a Cat!" I exclaimed rather selfishly.

Bria looked forlorn and her eyes darkened with sadness, but I was too busy thinking about what it would be like to return to my proper body to notice. She just gave me one of her grins, though again I didn't note that it was fake, "Let's try it out in here…I don't know how you become a Cat again, but you can certainly try."

I jumped up eagerly and went to a clear enough spot in the room. I closed my gold and green eyes, concentrated, and felt my hair start to creep around my body. In about half a second, I was at ground level. A whistle alerted me that Bria was up above me.

"Wau…" **Wow…** the teen blinked at me with sad eyes, "It actually worked…though, I guess I was wrong about you being a complete Lycanthrope…your hair wasn't exactly alive until the moment you changed. Also, your clothes went with you. Both things are an indication that you're more of a Mistral."

I finally noticed the sadness in her eyes…which had darkened from ocean to navy blue. I also noticed something else…

In another split second my hair when away from me and I was human again. Though, like she had said, my clothes had transformed with me instead of being left behind, so I wasn't nude this time. I watched from my crouched position as her eyes went back to that bright ocean blue color. That didn't stop me from noticing the detail that I had missed before, "Why are you wearing glasses? When did you first put them on?"

Brianna grinned truly and laughed, "I'll answer number two first; I put them on after I left the room so you could change. I had them on when I came back, even."

"Then why didn't I notice it?"

"I don't know, you tell me."

I thought about it a moment, blushing slightly, before locking her eyes with Bria, "I guess it's because your eyes are so captivating, I see right passed your glasses."

She simply smiled, "Now, for the first question, the reason why I'm wearing glasses are because I'm as blind as a bat during the daytime without them."

I remembered their hazy, unfocused eyes from when I had woken up. Furrowing my eyebrows I looked at her, "But you didn't have them on last night when you met me. They were also brighter…"

Laughing Bria kept beaming, "Hai, well, I'm sort of like a Vampire. I see as well as you do night, so during the summer I flip my sleep schedule from being awake during the day and sleeping at night, to sleeping by day and being awake at night. However, once August rolls around, I have to flip back. I _am_ still a teenager, so I have to go to school," she gave a slight shudder.

"That raises two questions," I told her, lifting a finger to stop her from continuing, "I didn't get a chance to ask this one last night, but if your grandmother is so sick, and neither your mom nor your grandfather are there to take care of her, then why'd you…" she cut me off.

Her smile had faded and she hissed dangerously, "That question ties in to your other, to why I'm here instead of school. The answer to both questions is the fact that a vacation for me had already been planned. However, my Aunt refused to have me in California for two weeks. The vacation had been promised, and I had this burning feeling in me to get out of New York. Something silent was telling me to leave, and leave I did. I chose to come on a ship instead of a plane, since I've never felt secure in such a thing. Though," the smile returned as she chuckled, "I was only able to leave to two weeks, so three days to and from Japan left me with only a week in the beautiful place. Certainly not enough time, however," she laughed.

"I would have thought you'd been to Japan before, since you're half and half," I said furrowing my brows.

"Unfortunately that's not true. I've lived in America for all my life," Brianna laughed softly, "I feel sorry for you…America's full of those humans that don't would scream or try and kill anything they didn't understand…like the Triceratons that came through here a year or so ago…The military was bakageta (absurd/foolish)…thinking they could defeat such an advanced technology…" she paused.

"It's very boring in America," Bria said absently, blushing slightly at her little rambling rant.

I gave her a mischievous smile, "But, it's not going to be boring now, is it?"

She smirked back at me and her voice was low, anticipating, and was full of a slightly suppressed impatient longing when she responded, "Iie, it won't be."

I'd been so used to her beaming and grinning that it caught me off guard when I caught sight of such a thing and heard that alluring voice. All of a sudden I realized there was way more to this new found friend of mine then what was being let on. I blushed and then stammered back to an earlier topic, "Y-You were talking about…how your eyesight's better at night…?"

Bria laugh returned in an instant and she beamed brightly, "Hai, I was. It's actually kind of a weird thing, though, what I do in the summer. It won't make sense to you once I explain it…but…you see, my body needs the sun. For example; it's more apparent in the winter when everything goes dark, gloomy, cold, and there is no direct sunlight. During that time, I'm grouchier, anti-social, and it's easier to irritate or anger me instead of making me laugh. My depression also sinks in easier…"

"You have depression?" I frowned.

She went on like she hadn't been interrupted, completely avoiding the question. "So when that happens, I rarely even leave indoors except for the walk to and from school. Then, during the summer, I switch my sleep schedule around; when during the winter I have to have the sun. It makes no sense, I know…"

"Actually," I said soothingly, "It does." I found myself smiling as I seemed to take her role at explaining, "In the summer it's warm, clear, brighter at least mood wise," I quickly edited since she was only awake during the night during the summer, "And you can see the starts if you find a good enough area.

"Though you said you need the sun, the moon can give you whatever energy you require, just in a different way. You can see neither the sun nor moon in winter, except on the coldest of night where the sky actually becomes the clearest even in the most polluted of cities," I finished off.

Brianna looked thoughtful, calculating, and satisfied as pieces fell into place, "Hai, that makes sense," she nodded her head slowly. Then she beamed exponentially, "You are a genius! It all makes perfect sense now!"

I just smiled in response, glad that I had made her happy. I stood, forgetting I had been sitting on the floor since my transformation. I was glad that I could return to my original form, but was equally glad that I could stay a human and keep this fascinating teenager happy. "I'm starving, temae?" I asked as I grabbed the sash and put in my extraordinarily long hair like Nao had done and concealed my Neko ears; my cat tail wrapped around my waist like the night before.

"Hai," Bria nodded and got off the bed. She grabbed her keys and put the stuff that she needed to away before we headed out the door to go to lunch.

Something interesting that I found out was that I was completely opposite than what I used to be. I was able to actually hide in plain sight and not be noticed the same way as if I had been keeping to the shadows. Bria was able to somehow just able to fade into the background next to me, shadow or no, as we walked along the decks after eating. This was all so new to me, everything seemed like a wonder.

We talked and talked, saving the big stuff for when we were alone and no one was anywhere near us. When in public, just incase there were some observing eyes and ears, we rattled off about trivial things and matters, just getting to know each other more personally.

By the time we returned to the cabin after dinner, bed neatly made since the room service had made their rounds, I knew almost as much as another friend of hers did. I had found that the thing about there being more to her then met the eye was correct as well. She had a 'multiple personality disorder', but she saw it as a more of a blessing than a curse. She said it defined her even more, made her extra unique.

I'd already told her everything about me, but at each new topic I brought up – for example, I mentioned books at lunch and she rambled about that on and off since then – she happily did all the talking. She still was after we showered and we were getting comfortable in our nightwear. She had to give me a nightgown of my own, since I had reached 4ft 7, an inch below my predicted height.

"You look around 15, but by the end of our trip, you might just be that 4ft 10 and look like you're possibly 18," Brianna told me laughing.

I grinned in response, "That would be nice." With that we settled in for sleeping another night. Both of us actually fell quickly into slumber land. When we awoke in the morning this time, I didn't freak out, though it did take those three minutes for everything to come rushing back.

We got dressed, and this day was spent much like the last one, but without the big things. We played a few games and I discovered that my usual distaste for water didn't affect me while in human form. In fact, we swam most of the day after I learned very swiftly how to swim. We raced each other, and I was just as much a Water Demon as she was.

Then to sooth our aching muscles, we relaxed in the Jacuzzi, which I was instantly fascinated by. Also, most of the time the place was empty, so I could unwind my tail and at one point I had taken off the sash over my ears.

We returned to the cabin once again, and after taking quick showers and getting comfy, we snuggled up together, more like sisters with each passing second. "We'll be arriving in New York tomorrow," she assured my hopeful look, "We'll be able to start looking for Raphael."

"Won't you have to go home right after? Isn't any of your family going to be waiting for you?" I asked.

She closed her clear, focused ocean eyes, obscuring them for my curious gaze. Her promise of being able to see better at night was true. I didn't see the glasses at all after 6 both today and yesterday. Bria sighed before she answered, "Iie, they won't be." She guessed my question before I opened my mouth, "Naze? Because, dear Lily, Mom and Nana, or what I call my grandmother, live on the other side of NYC. I'll be staying with Mrs. Morrison for a few 'restful' days."

I saw her try and suppress a smile that twitched at the corners of her lips. My jaw dropped and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Mrs. Morrison?!" I exclaimed softly. The old woman was someone Raphael knew, "So, you already knew of him?" I fought an angry scowl.

"No, of course not, but she spoke his name at least now and again. I foolishly paid no mind to what she had been trying to tell me, since she knows my fascination in mysterious beings. I'm mentally slapping myself, so you don't need to," Bria added before I could hit her over the head, another of the many things I had caught from her.

I sighed, but knew it was jus the old Cat fortune working its magic again. I realized I wasn't far from what the dark-green skinned turtle occasionally said, 'the old turtle luck runnin' true to form' I laughed softly.

She had heard my mental realization and the smile finally sprung, "Well, we'll defiantly catch him tomorrow night. That's not a premonition, it's a gut feeling and I've learned to trust them."

I laughed again and snuggled closer, the reaction a clear response that I understood. Slowly, but easily, we drifted to sleep.

And before I knew it, it was the next day sometime close to 6 in the evening, and we were docking.


	9. New York City

Edging closer and closer with each chapter to the 'end of the beginning'

_SUMIMASEN!! I haven't been updating because of school T.T That and a friend of mine that I IM with on Yahoo! Messenger IM RPs (Role Plays) with me ALL the time on YuYu Hakusho (YYH) stories…_

_To see those stories if you are also a YYH fan, search for _**GentleSnowTigers**

Oh, I changed my age to 17 and Lily's height to 4ft 10, making it 2009. So, I edited ch7 and 8. I'll also be making the turtles grow a few inches to make them 5ft 2.

I did a little exploring on Maps of New York, and decided on the routs the girls would take. Also, I made up where they dock.

Oh, and something fascinating is that on the Google maps it showed that castle-like place the guys live is real! And there's a lake called 'Turtle Pond' right next to it!

Yet again, still in Lily's POV. No intro for this one either. Sorry for the major overdose of First Person writing…

ENJOY PEOPLES!!

New York City

I was nervous; clutching a suitcase that I was pretending was mine when it was actually Brianna's. Sure enough, her predictions about height and age looks were right and I was 4ft 10 and looked like I was 18. But, I had stopped growing in the middle of the day, and I was relieved to know that.

She squeezed my hand reassuringly as we edged closer to the dock. In about 10 seconds, I would be setting foot in America for the first time. By what Bria had told me during the day, I was an illegal immigrant. I had no passport, no green card (whatever that was), nothing.

So, not wanting to get caught, during the morning I had died my hair pitch black like Nao had done many times in the past. The reason why had hit me so hard I felt sickeningly stupid for not realizing it sooner. Then, after I was sure it wouldn't be stained, I had gritted my teeth and wrapped the red sash around my hair at the back of my neck and then wrapped the ends lightly around my neck so it wouldn't slip. But I did not cover my ears since all I had to do was flatten them and they blended in with my hair.

As soon as the Statue of Liberty came into view, I had donned the cloak – Bria had hemmed it temporarily so it wouldn't drag – and put the hood up. We would dock somewhere along the Huston River, but she had no idea where. So, during the time that we still had on the ship, I had given the young woman beside me a quick lesion in speedy stealth; how to dodge from shadow to shadow without so much as a light bump on the boards. She had proved to be an excellent student.

Now, we used that lesson as we darted to land. I nearly slipped up twice – the fact that I had learned to walk on a swaying ship was not helping me gain my land-legs any faster – but I was not about to let that become 'third time's the charm' which in my case at this crucial moment would be the 'curse' instead.

And, just as we hit the ten second mark, my foot lighted down on the docks. Though, I didn't pause yet to let the feeling of being somewhere unfamiliar grab me. In another minute we were both passed the inspecting guards a good distance away from the ship and docks. We didn't stop then, either. Instead, we kept going, Brianna leading the way into the foreboding and overly grey with steel city of New York.

Once inside its surprisingly comforting and concealing walls, we finally stopped. I breathed a sigh of relief, then saw Bria collapse out of the corner of my eye. I gasped and went to her, "Bria-san, what is it?" I asked, worry evident in my voice.

"I was barely…breathing…while we were…coming here. My asthma kicked in…is all…" Bria told me with a weak smile as she rested against the alley wall. I nodded, remembering the same thing had happened on the ship. The sound of her breathing was too loud in her ears, so she slowed her breathing so she barely heard it at all. Bria had said the same thing happened when she ran up stairs – she held her breath so breathed heavily once at the top.

Brianna looked around and then nodded toward the street, "Can you see what street we're on?" she asked as she finally took off her glasses and put them in their case before sticking them in her pocket. Her chest was starting to rise and fall at a normal rate, so she would be standing soon, but not quite yet.

Nodding, I walked to the sidewalk and walked around a bit, keeping track of where I was going and how I could get back. Soon, I actually found a stand where they were selling things. I went over and looked at one. Though, I couldn't read any of it. I asked the manager where on the map we were located and he gladly showed me. Then I used my skills while he wasn't looking, knowing I would feel guilty later, and swiped it away from the store. I hurried back to Bria, who was up and waiting for me at the alley entrance.

We disappeared up onto a roof and I showed her on the map, "The guy said we were somewhere here, in…Hells Kitchen?"

"Hai," Bria smiled, "This is turning out to be better than I thought. We're not far from Central Park… It'll be dark soon, though, so we won't have to hide. NYC is one place where _you_ can walk around at night with your hair untainted and you ears wouldn't have to be covered. It's that creepy when shadow rolls around."

I grinned, "Fascinating."

"Hai…well, Avenger Alley is over on this side of Central Park," Brianna pointed, "Here, at W 48th St., is where we are. We'll travel along it a block, then turn left along 11th Ave. We'll travel that until we exit Hells Kitchen and enter the Manhattan area at W 59th St. Turn right until 10th Ave…follow the traffic to Damroch Park. Go along W 62nd St. straight into Central Park. From there, I got it pretty much down pat."

I scanned the map, looking at where she was pointing. The words and numbers that I could not read before showed their faces and I could read them as perfectly as my friend could. However, many areas I still could not figure out. I looked at Bria, "Could you give me a quick lesson; on how to read maps? Down right _read_, period?" I asked.

She stared at me and then scratched the back of her head, "Um…I barely can read maps and directions, but I can give you a quick, semi-lesson on how to read…" she agreed. Bria slipped off the red and black backpack she had and unzipped it, taking out a notebook and a pencil.

Scooting over to her she put the book on the ground and I watched her hand moved in the design of her handwriting. "First off, this is how you spell Hudson River, Avenger Alley, Central Park, Damroch Park, Hells Kitchen, and Manhattan…Avenue, Street, West, North, South, East…" She rattled off more words and names of the many famous parts of the city and many other street or avenue names.

When Brianna was done with that, she then pointed out each spot on the map. I saw more words and places fill in the blanks, blobs, and blurs. Then, the human teenager flipped the page in her notes over, "This is a list of the numbers from 1 all the way to 100…" she said and under her breath as she wrote she murmured each and every number. More blurs materialized, and soon, I could read the map just as well as Bria.

I hugged her and then rolled up the fascinating piece of paper. With a chuckled, Bria fit the map into her bag and then slung it back on her shoulders. "Let's get going, then…ah, there's a fire escape, we can get onto the roofs," she smiled and jumped up. I did as well, and soon we were scaling the rooftops so fast we reached Central Park right before sunset.

As soon as it was dark, the two of us came from the protection of the trees. I was able to take my hood down and I brushed my bangs out of my eyes, "Which way now?" I asked timidly and looked around at the once normal people who looked scary now as walked passed us.

Bria grabbed my arm and I narrowly missed getting my other hand grabbed up. I suddenly felt like my master, and how she went rigid and meek when another that was frightening to her came near. Two men now stood in front of us and I backed up behind my friend.

The bigger one, who I could tell was obviously the leader just by his looks, saw my eyes. He growled out fiercely and I shrank back more. "Ah, so another one of those freaks? How many of you are there?" he hissed. When I hissed back on impulse, he and his buddies stepped back.

Bria handed me her suitcase and I set the two of them down on the ground. She slipped off her backpack and it hit the grass with a light 'thud'. She rotated her shoulder and it popped, and then she cracked her knuckles, a small smirk growing on her face.

"Are you _seriously_ going to fight us? A shrimp like you?" the lackey scoffed.

"I like being small, thank you very much," Brianna returned the sneer. Her smirk grew sinister as they laughed.

"Babe, you couldn't lay one finger on me," he told her.

"Wanna bet?" Her ocean blue eyes had changed to look green. They sparked with an obvious challenge.

The leader turned to the lackey talking to Bria, "Jota, don't hurt her too badly," he gave a sly smile, "She'll be a nice treat for later."

"You worry too much, Evince," Jota laughed and he cracked his knuckled, satisfied permission had been granted without him having to ask.

I watched as Brianna got into a stance, looking extremely pleased about something. However, Jota attacked her before I could ponder on it more. Now I watched her fighting style; immediately I recognized it as Taekwondo.

She went through a series of blocks as she deflected his punches and the occasional kick. Then, when he was irritated and losing his focus, the first blow she made was a Jump Front Kick. She clipped him in the chin, making him flip over and land on his chest. Jota coughed lightly and got up, wiping a bit of blood from his mouth. He smirked, "Nice, you caught me off guard…but you won't do it again," he promised.

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Brianna flipped her hair back over her shoulder. She easily dodged his angry attack. Her movements were effortless, her smirk and glistening green eyes mocking. She leaned back and out of the way of a punch and that movement easily flowed into a back-flip.

Her shirt shifted and fluttered around on her left side, showing something red and purple. My Neko ears caught the sound of someone gasping. I looked to see that the leader looked stunned.

Bria stood straight and laughed, "See something that made you rethink your actions, Evince?" she asked, grinning. She lifted up shirt on her left side all the way to where her bra was and turned, showing a tattoo of two dragons, red and purple, tied by their tails and intertwining, and their heads faced each other with the eyes being the color of the other dragon.

"You're a Purple Dragon?!" Jota staggered back, "Impossible! I've never seen you and I sure as hell have never heard of you!"

Bria rolled her eyes and let her shirt fall back into place, "Numbskull that means you weren't there a month ago when Lynx and I completely demolished them in one of their raids."

"Wh-What? That means they lied? It was the biggest raid ever!"

"Then you don't watch the news…" Bria pinched the bridge of her nose and came back over to me. She grabbed her backpack and one of the two suitcases.

"Evince, what the hell is she talking about?" Jota growled.

"Heard of the Aka Ryuu? The Red Dragons?" the leader asked.

Jota paled now, "That shrimp…is Kerica?" He turned to look at Bria.

"Ding-ding-ding, give the man a prize," Brianna hissed sarcastically.

Evince turned solemn, "She is the Purple Dragon's best ally, and yet she and her sister, Lynx, are out biggest threat as the Akai Ryuu, or Red Dragon. They're, 17, female, deadly in street-fighting, they are excellently street-smart, and both have special gifts they got when those aliens invaded this place…"

Jota backed up, fearful now.

Bria laughed, "Go home, you two. You're not worth my time," she said and grabbed my hand. We both heard the soft whispers of the men we left behind before running footsteps were heard.

"What in the world was that? Kerica? Akai Ryuu? Lynx? Who are you?" I asked with a frown. I forced us to stop and straightened myself up. I wanted answers NOW.

"There's way more too me than you know," Bria sighed reluctantly. She pulled me off the path and we went the long way around, "Not everything I told you back at the ship was the truth, but that was only for protection to both of us if we had started being questioned. The truth is; I'm not originally from here. None of my family lives here. I came from South Dakota when I was tired of the broken promises and shit going on with my family. My grandmother's was in the hospital when I left, and my grandfather is in Afghanistan. My mom had the graveyard shift at Wal-Mart, so I barely saw her because she slept all day. I was tired of it and was scheduled to live with my Godmother, Aunt Diane, in California. I got halfway there, and then stole myself here. Basically, I ran away, and I arrived on May 17th…"

We finally got back onto the street and were scaling the rooftops once more. I patiently waited for the rest, "Kerica is just an alias…but not an actual street-name. Lynx is a street-name and her real name is Rachel Jay Knight. Not my real sister, she's actually a Soul Sister, but she hated her last name so changed it like I did. She also looks Japanese, though she's only 1/3rd, so the people who helped us with it didn't ask any questions. She's also part American and part Spanish. She can't speak Japanese worth a damn, though," Brianna laughed.

"Rach lives with Mrs. Morrison and me. She can tell you her story, though. Her power brings up another half-truth. Rachel is the one who truly sees the Future. I actually see the Past, and with that I can copy someone's ability for a limited amount of time or just enhance one of mine. However, the telepathy thing is true. Ah, for a little more information, I'm deadly in Taekwondo, book-smart, and have a ton of different powers."

That last bit of trivia caught my attention. This was very interesting, and I was now interested in meeting this…Rachel. This night was turning out to be very fascinating and was getting more complicated by the minute. However, before I could ask anything else, Bria spoke.

"Aha! Avenger Alley…We've made it," Bria jumped down onto a fire-escape and I followed. We jumped down the last ten feet, landing gracefully, and she led the way to a door and made a series of knocks.

The door opened right up and I stared. In front of us was a 17 year-old woman about 5ft 1 with long legs and she was very slim. She had long red hair in a ponytail, bright brown eyes, and skin as vampire-white as Brianna's – maybe whiter because it glowed in the moonlight. She wore jeans, a black shirt, and white sneakers. Her tattoo, I noticed, was a bright red dragon surrounding a crimson rose on her left arm. The fact it was a _red_ dragon and that it was on her left side gave it away.

This was Rachel Jay Knight, otherwise known as 'Lynx'.

She looked absolutely pissed, worried, and relieved at the same time. "Brianna Davon Knight, get inside _right now_. Bring your friend with you…"

Bria chuckled nervously and shoved me inside. The door slammed behind us and I turned to watch what would happen next.


	10. Trouble

No longer Lily's POV Thank you all for reviewing, favoriting, and alerting

No longer Lily's POV Thank you all for reviewing, favoriting, and alerting!

Trouble

"Do you know how worried I was?!" Rachel demanded once Brianna and Lily were inside and away from the door. "This worried!" She held her arms out wide. "You could have died or worse got raped and I wouldn't have been able to do _ANYTHING_ because I'm stuck **HERE** thanks to _SOMEONE_ who _**SWEARS**_ that she will be _**CAREFUL**_ and wouldn't do anything _STUPID_!" She shouted/empathized on the parts needed.

Bria winced back at each one, and then just listened as the girl kept going, effortlessly tossing her suitcase and bag off to a corner near Lily without the slightest interruption.

Rachel took in a few breaths after a while and then said, "Had me scared so badly I thought I'd be chasing you down, and you know how bad my sense of direction is!"

Brianna smiled soothingly and placed her hands on Rachel's arms, "Sister, calm down, and breathe," she said softly, "I'm fine, I'm unharmed, and I'm here. I'm sorry to have worried you," she hugged the girl, "I've missed you, by the way…"

Thanks." Rachel rolled her eyes and then hugged her back. "Missed ya too."

Bria chuckled and stepped back when she did, "Now, Rach, this is Lily," she gestured to the shy Neko standing against the wall, "Lily, this is my sister, Rachel."

"Hola," Rachel said with a smile.

"Konbanwa," Lily nodded respectively.

"Mi casa es su casa. Hope you enjoy," Rachel said, "Because at times its hell, unless you like waking up to noise…"

"I'm used to it," Lily smiled sadly, "Bria-san has told me her story, and she knows mine. However, I do not know yours and you don't know anything about me…except for the fact I'm a Humanoid Cat…" she swished her tail for emphasis.

"Well, I never asked you anything about yourself." Rachel replied with a slight smile. "I can tell that you know Japanese...great that means sis can start talking to you using a foreign language I don't know."

"She has been...and I've learned English quickly from her. Surprisingly, since my transformation on the 4th, I'm a swift learner. I had no idea what you were just saying until you told me the translation right after. I'm assuming it's Spanish?" Lily tilted her head.

"Si," Rachel grinned, "Yes, sometimes I speak Espanola and it annoys my Hermana greatly. Although, I do it just because it annoys."

"Hermana?"

"Sister."

Bria laughed and nudged Rach playfully and then turned to the Neko, "Here, I'll put my things away while you two swap stories," she chuckled and then grabbed her suitcases and backpack before disappearing around a corner.

"Alright, so who goes first?" Rachel asked looking at Lily.

Lily was about to answer, and then a silver cat jumped into her arms, "Ah, hello there," she smiled and petted her fellow feline in the places that she knew would be loved, "I'll go first...but, what's this pretty girl's name?" she asked.

"Lucy," Rachel grinned, "Ella se llamo es Lucy."

Lily stared, waiting for the translation.

"Her name is Lucy," Rachel laughed, "Lo siento. Sorry. Forgot myself there for a minute."

"No problem," She petted Lucy, and then went to sit on the couch, "Alright…it's long…sad mostly…if you want me to stop at any time just say so…ok?"

"Alright," said Rachel with a slight smile.

Lily took a deep breath and told the story.

Rachel listened, nodded, and didn't interrupt. It was a sad story; there was no doubt about that. However, she was a sucker for them. Quite literally. She leaned as forward as she could go, on the edge of her seat, listening, and listening. Offering silent support and comfort if she needed it.

Lily fought tears and ended with the Cruise, and after they docked she mentioned the two men, "Then, we arrived here and I met you. That's pretty much it…"

"I see," Rachel said. "I'm not sure what to say…the story was sad yes, and it was breathtaking. Like a really good plot." She smiled lightly, "I think that's insulting though…to you anyway."

"No, no, I like hearing your opinion," Lily smiled. She looked at the clock and raised an eyebrow, "That four hours or so...it's about 11:30 now, and it was around 7 something when we started."

"Possibly you're tired," Rachel said with a slight smile, "Want me to show you to a guest room?"

Lily shook her head, "Iie," she smiled, "Tell me your story, now."

"Me? My story? But aren't you tired?" Rachel blinked at the cat girl.

"Bria-chan and I would stay up almost 'till dawn talking," Lily chuckled, "I'm fine, really."

Rachel smiled, "Alright. You know my age, my name and all that good stuff, so let's see…" She thought for a minute. "Ah! Okay, I used to be a fortune teller in Arizona. I used to go around doing people's fortunes. Move from alley to alley. My mother was sick and my father had no care in the world for me. Well, one day my mother died and I refused to live with mi papa. Therefore, I lived in New Hampshire for a bit, doing fortune telling, got kicked out because I was doing them, and here I am." She gestured. "I wound up in New York because I felt like I had to."

"So…how'd you meet Bria-chan?" Lily tilted her head.

"She walked in my shop," Rachel said, "A fortune telling shop. She was a skeptic at first and then I showed her what I could do. My readings of the Tarot cards are amateurish, but since I can see other people's future's just by touching them, I can either warn them, or celebrate with them." Rachel smiled a bit. "Bria-chan...came to me with a proposal soon after that."

Lily was finding this all very fascinating, "Proposal?"

"Si," Rachel nodded. "She obviously knew that I knew the streets like the back of my hand since I fortune told in many, many alleyways when I feel like I wandering away from my shop. I knew the gangs, the safe spots, the allies; I was well worth value to the Aka Ryuu." She smiled a bit, "What Bria-chan didn't know, was I'm skilled at not just Future seeing. I'm also known for using my poisons."

"Poison?!" Now Lily was the one on the edge of her seat.

"Yes. I don't have a collection, but I do know a lot of them. And I know a lot of antidotes too. My favorite poison is rattlesnake venom. I can only get it from one of the gangs out here. My connections were another thing that was worth value. I had many allies, and hardly any enemies."

"Another thing," Rachel grinned. "That I'm well-known for is my information gathering. The connections have information; I can get it and use it. Bria-chan does some of that stuff, too, she has more stealth skills than I do…But all of that is boring to you," She sighed dramatically, "I'm sure."

"Hell no!" Lily grinned, "This is great to know. I was wondering about the Aka Ryuu, and how you joined. Are there any more of you?"

"Just one and that'd be Angel. I don't know her very well." Rachel sighed. "Then again, I'm mostly on the streets."

"But you're not anymore," Lily pointed out, "Not since you met Bria-chan."

Rachel laughed and then said, "That's true. That's why I'm so white right now. I used to be darker. Tanner."

"Little light?" Lily smiled slightly, "Hai, Nao-dono is just as pail as us," she chuckled and then blinked, "Rachel-san…?" the redhead had gotten a blank look on her face, "Rach…Rachel?!"

Rachel's breath was sucked in, and her heart ceased for a bit. In her mind black and white, she saw a boy with a hockey mask on and a girl standing side by side, with three or four people surrounding them. They both looked like they were ready for a fight, but so far, she could tell that they were talking.

Something Angel or even Casey said must have grabbed the four's attention and from the angle one of them shifted in, she could see a tattoo. A clear one. Rachel's eyes narrowed. The Purple Dragons? What were they doing with them? A fight broke out immediately after she thought that.

Bria came in hearing Lily's cries and hurried to Rachel's side, "Esu-san, what are you seeing? Who's in trouble and where?"

"Madison Avenue; Angel and some guy are up against the Purple Dragons," Rachel sighed breathlessly.

Bria gritted her teeth, "Get dressed, pack a suitcase, I have a feeling we won't be back for several days...I'll write a note for Mrs. Morrison," she herself still had her clothes from that day on, so after she went to the kitchen and wrote the note, she hurried back to her room.

"I'll just…stay here," Lily mumbled as both girls hurried off. She carried the silver cat, Lucy, to a room that had an old woman sleeping in it and set her on the bed, "Take care of yourself and your master, now, alright?" she purred/mewed softly in Cat Tongue.

"I will," Lucy mewed back.

Lily petted Lucy one last time and left, closing the door softly behind her. When she got back to the main room, she waited for the two women. Once they joined her, she stared as they were strapping weapons to their person. She looked them over and noted what they were wearing and what they had.

Brianna had on a black Japanese fighting outfit outlined in dark red with no sleeves and a slit on the left side all the way up to her hip. She had on only a pair of black spandex shorts for covering underneath. Then, I saw as she knelt that the outfit she had could be inverted to have the dark red dominant with black outlines. For shoes she had grey socks that covered her ankles and black and red tennis shoes.

As for Rachel, she was wearing a black skirt that reached to the tips of her knees. Her shirt was long sleeved and very loose. Her shoes were sneakers like the same ones she wore when Lily first got in the apartment.

After strapping a dagger to either thigh, Bria stood and started tying her long hair into a high-n-tight ponytail and she braided the red streaks that weren't seen before and then tied those over the ponytail holder. She then slipped a red/gold clip right in front of the tied area and she smoothed out her outfit, "Well, I'm ready." Her eyes turned green to show she was fired up and ready to go.

"Same." Rachel said as she slipped her sword over her shoulder and tightened the strap. There was a belt that was on her that held a pack of some sort. Her eyes were sparkling and happy almost. Like she was dying to fight. "Lets hurry up and get going!"

Bria flung her backpack on instead of a suitcase and Lily took Rachel's suitcase. Just as the trio reached the door, a series of knocks alerted them that someone was there waiting for them.

"Lynx! Kerica! Please, it's me, Angel!" a desperate cry echoed.

Bria put a hand on the door and frowned, "It's her," she confirmed, "No one else knows the code," she said and opened the door. Sure enough, the purple-haired 15-year-old was standing there, tears in her eyes, "What's wrong? Rachel saw you were with someone...wait, how long ago was that?" she turned to Lily who had put her hood up.

"Actually, about 15 minutes. She would have had time to get here," Lily told them.

"Then what happened to the boy?" Rachel demanded.

"His name is Casey," Angel told her absently before telling them, "He's in trouble. Hun showed up, and he told me to run and get you two…" she looked to the cloaked figure, "Who's she?"

"Louise," Lily answered for the two girls, "Lily Louise Mikadzuki, but call me Louise on the streets."

"Okay!" Rachel said, "First of all, is Hun still at Madison Avenue?"

"Yes," Angel nodded, "The guys…wait…" she shut her mouth swiftly. Could she tell them? She looked at Louise, and the two locked eyes. She sucked a breath, seeing that they were cat-eyes. "Louise, take off your hood," she demanded.

Rachel shook her head, "Its okay, Angel. She's with us."

"No, I want her to take off her hood," Angel kept staring at Louise.

"Come on we don't have time for this!" Rachel groaned.

"It's alright, Lynx," Lily chuckled and took off her hood, also shaking out her white hair with orange and black highlights. Her Neko ears twitched, and she unwrapped her tail from around her waist, "I'm a humanoid cat. A Neko, if you please," she bowed her head, "To keep it short, I was once a full cat, born and raised in Japan, transformed on the 4th, met Kerica on a cruise ship, and came here."

Angel stared, "A humanoid…transformed how? By what and who?"

She by-passed the 'how' part, "I was transformed by my master, Nao Mikadzuki, who had her own sort of transformation from a mixture of green ooze from the TGRI and four types of blood. Three were from humanoid turtles and the fourth mine. I am looking for one of those turtles; the Twin Sai wielder, Raphael."

Angel smirked, and motioned to them, "Then, you will find him tonight. Come, follow me. Lynx, Kerica, I will fill you in on the way," she said and started running, climbing the fire-escape to the rooftops so they would have a faster route.

Kerica knew all this, but would like to know from Angel's perspective, so she grabbed her sister's hand and the trio followed close behind.


	11. The Gang p1

With help from the real Rachel, I got ch10 done no problem

With help from the real Rachel, I got ch10 done no problem. Same with this one :laughs: it's absolutely wonderful RPing, try it sometime.

Enjoy!

The Gang

"Alright, Louise, the story is; as a youth growing up in Casey's neighborhood, I came under the influence of a street gang known as the Purple Dragons. I quickly became involved in thefts as part of my initiation and soon found myself fighting in a wrestling ring to become a full-fledged member. Casey came to my aid when he and the Turtles infiltrate a Purple Dragon hideout and pulled me off my path of delinquency. I then became a close friend of the Turtles…"

Angel led the way around a street that was too long for them to cross by rooftop. She then continued, "Lynx, the guys as I called them back at the apartment are a group of four turtles. The leader is Leonardo, or Leo. He wears a blue mask and wields twin katana. Leo tries his best at ninjutsu and protects his family no matter what. He gets along well with his master, Splinter, a Humanoid Rat. He is also the 'oldest' of the four. In truth they don't know how old they really could be, but they've been Humanoid Turtles for 16 years…"

Angel sighed as they once again got to the roofs, "Then, the second oldest is the one Louise is looking for; Raphael. He wears a red mask and, like she said, used Twin Sai. He's the toughest of the four and quite a hothead. He likes cereal, rap music, and sports, and don't forget his Shell Cycle. Man that thing is /sweet/! Anyway, he and Casey go on Patrol often, and love to hang out. Raph hates fact that Leo disagrees with some of his ideas…"

She looked at the street sign below, "Just a bit further…" she said absently and then moved on to the next turtle, "The 'Brains of the Outfit' is Donatello. He has a purple mask and uses the Bo staff. Don adores computers, technology, and math. He doesn't like to fight as much as his brothers, but does it anyway…Quite the genius, besides April I ask him for help on my math homework…"

They _finally_ got there and they heard a whole bunch of fighting and clanging of weapons. April peeked over the roof and pointed, "There, those are them," she said as she pointed to the three turtles she had mentioned who were all off in one general direction. The fourth turtle was no where to be seen at that point in time.

Rachel stared for a while and then turned to Bria, "Well?"

Brianna smirked, "Let's do it!" she laughed and was just about to jump down when she spotted an orange-clad turtle with nun-chucks. He seemed to pop out of thin air and he totally conquered one of the Purple Dragon followers who was half the size of Hun yet just as good...

"The Mikester wins again!" He laughed.

Bria kept herself from laughing with a bit of difficulty, "Who is _he_?" she asked highly amused.

"Mikey? Oh!" Angel giggled, "He's the 'comic relief'," she explained, "Mikey is the youngest…very outgoing. Michelangelo can't stand life without pizza, video games, and skateboards. He also likes to bug his bro, Raph, but that just gets him in trouble afterward. He does it anyway, though," she grinned.

Bria grinned back. She was no fan of any of that stuff, but laughing, being outgoing, and having a great sense of humor were things she _was_ good at. "Then, let's get…" she paused and her head snapped back to look down at the group. A gasp had caught her attention.

"Mikey, look out!" the blue-clad one, Leo, called out in fear. Hun was coming up right behind the youngest brother.

Something inside set Brianna on edge, and she jumped onto the ledge after sliding off her backpack, "Come on!" she growled and jumped down. As she fell, she twirled and her right leg collided with the back of Hun's neck right before the giant's fists were about to pound into Michelangelo's head. She did a back flip and landed easily on her feet, her Bo in her hands and ready to use.

Two of the Purple Dragons gasped, "Isn't that who I think it is?" One of them turned to the other and the other one nodded, "Twin Dragon Kerica." "I doubt she's here to save us." One of them bit his lip. "I'm not worried about that! I'm worried about Poisoned Mistress Lynx."

At the rooftop, Lynx raised an eyebrow, "That's a new one." She commented as she leaned back. "Not that I care."

"Don't you think you should be worrying about the both of them?" One deadpanned, but the other said nothing.

Kerica simply rolled her eyes and then glared as Hun turned to face her, "Leave them alone, Hun," she hissed. Her eyes flickered over to a limp body the purple-clad turtle, Donatello, was tending to. His hockey mask off, she recognized him as Casey from Angel's memories on several times she'd looked at them. She looked back at Hun, her glare heated.

"And why should I?" Hun asked looking at the girl.

"Because, if you don't I'll leave the Purple Dragons," Bria growled. It was a huge threat, considering that she was the best thing that had happened to them in the past year.

Lynx whistled and the two boys that were in the purple dragons looked at each other fearfully. If the Red Dragons got a hold of all of Kerica, then that would mean their gang would be diminished. Surely, Hun knew that. The boys watched the fight quietly.

"Its not use bargaining with someone like that," Lynx called down, "He'll just save the battle for another day."

"I know that, Lynx, don't treat my like an idiot," Kerica called up.

"Just seemed to me you needed reminding," Rachel smiled before leaning back, "Continue like I wasn't here."

_'That's so easy for her to say…'_ The boys thought together as they glanced at Hun again to see what /he/ would say.

"Right…" Keri sighed and watched the brute in front of her, setting the staff upright and she put her hand on her hip, "Oh, I forgot…Karai-dono wouldn't be too happy knowing that you let one of your best people get away, now would she? She'd be absolutely livid."

"Fine," Hun sighed, "I'll let them go."

Lynx stared. _'That easy?'_ She looked at the scene below her interestedly and then looked over at Angel and Lily before sighing and picking up her bag.

"That easy? Not even just a little fight?" Raphael echoed Rachel's thoughts. "What in the shell is with this girl?" He and his brothers had been about to escape when they'd heard this. They stared and watched as well.

"Obviously someone important," Donatello said as he watched the scene as well.

Kerica smiled approvingly and bowed politely. Hun simply bowed his head and went to help grab the fallen before he and the two remaining hurried off. Bria stretched and looked up, "Alright, Angel, Lily, Esu-chan. Come on down. We obviously have some explaining to do for these fine ninja gentlemen, and they have some story-telling of their own." She looked at them with her eyes ocean blue and kind.

"Oooh, she called us gentlemen!" Mikey grinned.

"She probably only meant us, dipstick," Raph smirked.

"Chill it," Donatello said carefully, "No fighting."

Raph shook his head, amused, and Mikey stuck his tongue out. They shrugged, though, and stood from their crouched positions just as Leo did.

"…" Rachel watched as Angel and Lily went down and she called down, "Sorry sis, but I'm leaving. There's no point in hanging around."

"Ah, don't be such a snot and join us down here!" Raphael called up.

Leo hit him on the arm, "Be nice," he whispered.

"Fine!" Rachel said, "Since the 'gentleman' asked," she used finger quotes and jumped down from the roof.

Angel and Brianna laughed and the girls joined the guys. Angel bent down and picked up who she considered a brother, "Don, I'll take Casey home. His place isn't that far, I'll be fine," she said.

"If you're sure," Donatello said as he carefully moved away, "Then be careful."

"I'll walk her!" Lynx cried out raising her hand.

"Ah, ah, not so fast," Lily chuckled and grabbed Rachel's arm, "We all have to talk and get things straitened out."

"You guys can do it though." Rachel said. "Why should I stay? All I'll be doing is nodding my head and looking at the sky."

Angel shook her head and turned, "See ya, guys!" with that she walked off and disappeared around the corner.

"Damn it I hate you…" Rachel muttered.

"No you won't, it'll be too interesting for you," Bria said to her sister.

Rachel gave her sister a 'look' and folded her arms. "Then go for it." She started walking in a random direction.

"Hey…I have a suggestion," Michelangelo said cheerfully.

"Hm?" The girls looked over at him. Lynx had an eyebrow raised to show that she was interested in knowing.

"Why don't you three come to our place? We have plenty of room, and last time I looked it was almost midnight. It's probably way passed that by now, so you could stay the night!" Mikey grinned.

Rachel was SO, SO glad that it was dark out. No one could see the blush on her cheeks when he suggested that. "Um…our place isn't very far from here is it?" She looked at Bria. She was okay sleeping when it was all girls. Having most boys on the other hand…she was a modest person.

Bria took a calming breath, "Um…sure, it'll be fine, Rachel," she said soothingly but didn't miss the blush since she had it, too. Lily had one as well, but it was masked by her only freckles on her body. _'Lucky…'_ she thought and sighed before turning back and smiled, "That'd be wonderful. Go ahead and take us there, if you please," she bowed politely.

Leo bowed back, "It'd be our pleasure." He smiled as he straightened up, "Let's go."

Rachel had to turn away quite literally and covered her mouth to hide her laughter. She could almost see her sister fainting…

Bria felt butterflies in her stomach and fought to keep herself from blushing from bright pink to cherry red. She ignored the snorts of barely contained laughter coming from Mikey and Raph. Don just looked amazed. She motioned to the rooftops, "Lead the way," she requested.

Rachel couldn't help herself. She had to start walking. Leo nodded, "That's what we were going to do." That did it. Rachel luckily tripped and fell but she rolled over covering her mouth laughing.

Raphael burst as well, after seeing that. He made the immediate conclusion that the redhead was quite clumsy. Michelangelo cracked up right along with him.

Lily scowled and hit all three of them, "Shut up and let's go!" she hissed annoyed and folded her arms.

"Sure, just let me get up." Rachel requested and she did, after stumbling a few times because she couldn't stop her giggling. But she composed herself and tried to contain her smile. "Off we go!" She couldn't help but to grin.

Raphael stared and sobered up immediately. 'What the shell?!' he noted he had his mouth hanging open and shut it. Her eyes...that green around the pupil...he couldn't help but see his own reflection, "Definitely," he muttered and turned, jumping upward first. He wanted to get home quickly and get some answers to his unasked questions that all of a sudden bubbled up.

Lily rolled her eyes and flicked her tail in agitation. She felt eyes on her and turned to see Donatello look away. She rose and eyebrow and tilted her head, ears twitching. She shrugged and was the second one up.

"Esu, you next," Bria said pointing to the roof.

"What?" Rachel blinked. She was going toward where the road was. Not toward the roof. She blinked a bit wondering how she should respond. 'I was taking the road' or 'next to do what?' "What?!" She asked again this time confused by her own thoughts.

Bria palmed her forehead, "Follow Raphael!" she ordered and pointed to the roof again.

"Sorry! Spacing!" Rachel laughed nervously. This was why Bria never trusted her with the map. No matter how badly injured she was.

Mikey laughed and got to Rachel's side, "Come on, and let's get goin'. You'll love our place! Say, do you like video games? What about comics? Pizza?" he kept listing as he pulled Rachel along with him onto the rooftops.

"Good lord…it seems as if you two are the only ones who are the actual gentlemen…" Bria's eye twitched.

"Doesn't look like she minds very much," Donatello said with a slight smile.

"That's Mikey for you," Leo sighed in his response.

"She's quite modest," Brianna explained and then she noted she still had her Bo staff in her hand. She slid it onto her back in its strap looked to the purple-clad, "Care to go next?"

"Sure," Donatello said and he got up to the rooftops.


	12. The Gang p2

Sorry if the guys end up OOCish (especially Leo)...my friend who's RPing them with me isn't that experienced with Leo's and Don's personalities, I have to use examples from other shows she's seen to tell her how they are

I'M NOW 16 YEARS OLD!!

The Gang p2

Bria chuckled and took a breath, "Sorry to make us go last, but if I'd gone first Esu would have headed back. Besides…unless going into battle, a leader follows in the back to make sure nothing happens…that's what I think, anyway," she shrugged.

"That's a good way of thinking," Leonardo said, "You first."

Bria smiled apologetically, "I'd have to use the fire escape to get up there. My energy level is zero. That and my asthma hasn't been exactly friendly all day…" she sighed, "I hope you don't mind if I'm a bit slow…"

"That's fine," Leo said, "If you want…I can carry you up there."

Bria couldn't speak for a second or two, let alone breath. She smiled and waved her hands, "I-Iie…I'll be fine," she was about to make a run for the fire escape, but he caught her arm. Her legs felt like jelly, the toll for the day seeming to have caught up with her. She was in his arms in a second and was pressed against his plastron. She blushed brightly and bit her lip, "Ok then…Let's have it your way…" she said reluctantly.

"Any normal girl would be dying of happiness not of embarrassment," Rachel called over her shoulder. The group had stopped when they realized Leo and Bria weren't around and watched from the rooftop.

"I suppose that makes me the _only_ gentlemen here," Donatello said rolling his eyes good naturedly.

"Shut up!" Bria called up, voice cracking as she turned dozens of shades of red. She winced and just buried her face in Leo's chest, grumbling, "I'm gunna kill her…"

"Hmm…Splinter Junior is finally having some fun of his own," Raphael smirked teasingly.

Rachel had to cling onto Michelangelo's arm to not fall over laughing again as they both cracked up. She didn't know who Splinter was, but she couldn't help but to laugh anyway.

"Shut up," Leonardo growled at Raphael, "You shouldn't be talking."

"What in the world did I do? Do you see me holdin' a girl in my arms and looking positively _happy_ about it? No, I don't think so," Raph smirked more.

"…" Leo said nothing but just blushed, "I'm not the only one." He nodded over to Michelangelo and Rachel.

Bria was now the one to try and keep from laughing, "Burn..." she murmured as she heard both the said two sober up. She peeked and saw they were backed away from one another in denial. "Nice one," she whispered.

"It's easy," Leo whispered back. "Besides, I have a feeling your sister might be planning something anyway."

"Like I would know what that would be," Brianna shook her head, "She's so unpredictable at times…Though at others she is an open book."

"Are we walking anytime soon?" Donatello asked amused.

Lily pinched be bridge of her nose. She felt like she was getting a headache, "Would you two just _please_ join us so we can _go_?" she asked.

"Ah yes." Leo said flustered a bit. Rachel coughed to keep herself from laughing.

"And they say I'm an easy laugher, good grief, look at her," Bria rolled her eyes, "Wow, just wow…" She yipped a bit as she was all of a sudden in the air and they landed on the ledge of the roof, "This will be interesting…" she murmured to herself. Soon, the group was on their way to the guy's hideout.

They made it, with more bits of embarrassing moments and points where Leonardo just completely _owned_ his brothers. A couple times Leo and Rachel exchanged a couple hits and Bria just knew they were getting along well now. Don had taken up studying Lily and asking her endless questions. The Calico never seemed to stop amazing the guy.

"Hey, sis!" Rachel suddenly called as she looked over at her, "Serious question, serious answer."

"Uh…ok?" Bria blinked.

Rachel blushed a light pink, modesty even though sometimes she ignored it and laughed it off at times, always got her in the end. Suddenly she couldn't ask. She was going to die from embarrassment. Then again, would it be embarrassing them for them? "When we get to the place…" She trailed off for a bit.

"DoyouthinkIcouldtellyouandLeo'slovefortune?!" She asked very, very quickly, her cheeks a bright red now.

Bria and Leo both faltered and the turtle leader completely missed his landing. The two of them went tumbling along the roof and she pushed herself off the ground, "Ugh…ouch…damn that hurt…" she muttered. She then registered what in the hell her sister had said and she sent a glare, "Rachel, have some wits about you! We just met tonight, not half an hour ago! Of course not!"

Donatello couldn't help but to smile, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"Actually I was being very truthful at that exact moment," Rachel replied the red still not fading from her cheeks, "And alright, that's fine with me. Need help up?"

Leo managed to get himself up. He couldn't believe it. If Bria said that she was modest, then the word must have changed meaning. He sighed, "No, we're fine."

"No, I'm fine," Brianna said at the same time Leo did and got up. She winced slightly, her elbows had gotten scraped, and on her left arm had a nasty cut on it, "Freakin' AC…" **(Freakin' Ass Crap)** she sighed and took the red sash from her katana hilt and tied it around the wound, using her teeth to help tighten it. She huffed. She had _just_ started getting used to the protective feel of Leo's arms around her when they had crashed. Now she was bristling and not a happy camper. She used long strides to get to the other end of the building and looked down, "How much further?" she asked.

"Shouldn't be too much longer now," Donatello said.

Mikey bounded over and looked, "Right over there," he pointed.

Bria stared, "The Castle?! You guys live at Turtle Pond…how ironic is _that_?" she palmed herself.

"Not ironic. Obvious," Rachel couldn't help but to say.

"You. Shut. Up," Bria hissed and huffed. "Well, now that I know where we're going..." she jumped down, not caring how far it was to the ground. She landed on an out-stretched flag pole and did a front-flip not to show off but to keep herself going. She wasn't just bristling, she was livid. Not even half an hour and her own _sister_ asks to tell a _love fortune_!

"I think she's mad at me," Rachel said staring for a bit.

"Gee, whatever gave you that idea?" Raph raised an eyebrow.

"The fact that she's walking away and has her arms folded…wait you were being sarcastic weren't you?" Rachel glared at him.

"No duh…" Raph rolled his dark brown eyes.

Lily didn't even bother telling them to shut up as she just walked right around them and followed after Bria.

"Let's not start fighting," Donatello stepped in, "We should follow them. We're almost home, at least keep the peace until we're there okay?"

I can agree." Rachel said with a slight smile, "Walking!" She ran off to catch up to everyone else.

"Okay then…" Raphael stared and then followed also.

Donatello just chuckled but followed after Raphael.

Down at the entrance to the castle, Brianna was waiting, "It took me and Lily less than a minute to get here and it took the rest of you 5…" she blinked slowly, bored, "We didn't go inside, figuring it would be best if you four went first," she added.

You and Lily had a head start," Rachel pointed out, "The rest of us did not."

"Well, we're here now," Donatello said trying to stall any fights, "Let's go in."

"Peacekeeper…" Bria noted right off the bat and stepped back, waiting for the turtles to go in before she and the other two girls followed.

The four of them opened the doors and walked on through; Leonardo held the door open, "Coming?" Rachel quickly went in before Leo could say anything else.

Bria nodded respectfully, though her eyes turned soft in an instant, and she went in followed by Lily. The door closed and the four turtles went rigid as an old, wise, worried yet relieved strict voice called down to them.

"My sons, where have you been?!" Master Splinter asked, not exactly happy.

Leo and Don looked at each other, wondering which one would have to begin the story. Deciding that it might be best to save some humiliation, Leo nodded and then said, "We were out." He bit his lip. "Casey got caught by Purple Dragons and Hun."

"Hmm…and what of these three young ladies?" Splinter asked as he started down the stairs to them.

Bria spoke up, "Sir, my name is Bria, Knight Brianna. This is my sister, Knight Rachel, and this is Lily, a humanoid like the rest of you. Choudai, if you would let us stay for the night, I promise everything can be explained to both you and your sons in the morning."

Leonardo and Donatello glanced at each other as if to say _'At least it wasn't Mikey or Raph.'_

"Yeah, please?! Please, please, please, please?" hyper Mikey asked.

The two brothers' sweatdropped, _'Spoke to soon...'_

Rachel didn't know if she should say anything, and opted to keep her mouth shut.

Master Splinter considered it for a moment, and then sighed, "Very well…Though we only have two guest rooms. Raphael, Michelangelo, you may show Miss Rachel to her guest room. Donatello, you may show Miss Lily to hers. Leonardo, would you be kind enough to help Miss Brianna to your room?"

Bria turned to her sister, Raph, and Mikey before they could utter a sound of possible laughter, "Not. A. Word. I've have enough for one night."

Rachel just smiled and patted her sister on the head and said, "Have a good night then."

Mikey grinned innocently, "Whatever you say!" He grabbed one of Rachel's arms and Raph took the other.

Bria barely contained herself. She took a calming breath and watched as Donny cheerfully led Lily off to the second spar bedroom. _'I soooo envy her right now…Esu's probably cracking up with Raph and Mike right now…'_ she sighed.

Master Splinter raised and eyebrow, but shook his head and disappeared back to his own room.

"Ready?" Leo asked looking at her. "Sorry if it's embarrassing or anything, I might go and see if Donatello will let me sleep in his room, if you prefer."

"Iie, Leo, it's alright," Bria smiled, "Long day, long night…Though I suspect many more along the road, so I'd better get used to it now."

"If you're sure?" Leonardo raised an eyebrow.

Bria waved a tired hand, "Just show me your room, choudai…"

"Follow me," Leo gently helped her up and led her to his room.

"Freakin' wow, Leo!" Brianna gained her enthusiasm in a matter of seconds. She stared, "Candles, dragons, books and books on honor, the Way of the Worrier, Book of Five Rings, the Samurai, and Japan...you even have Rosetta Stone for learning Japanese! Oh my god, Leo, this is awesome!"

"Thanks." Leo said rubbing the back of his neck. "Feel free to look through them."

"I just might do that," Bria grinned and slid off her backpack. She then undid her Bo staff and katana and set them against the wall. She then looked around the Japanese-styled room fully and completely before biting her lip, "It looks so much like...the room I had back at home…" she trailed off and then shook her head before sad memories could make her start crying.

She then noticed that his bed was a king-size, and there was no other place to sleep, and she wasn't particularly fond of the floor. A blush crept onto her cheeks. To prolong the inevitable, she slung her bag onto her shoulder again, "Um…I'm gonna go change…" she hurried out and by sheer luck found the bathroom. She changed into a nightgown and then undid her hair, letting it fall down and cover her back.

With a sigh, she picked her stuff up and went back to Leo's room. He had the Book of Five Rings in his hand at the moment. "I have that, and it took me more than a dozen times to read it because the moment I got through one chapter, if I went back and scanned it, I didn't remember a thing."

"Same, but I keep trying," Leo said, "Thinking it'd click or something."

"It does at one point or another," Bria chuckled and a yawn escaped her. She blinked a couple times and then plopped her bag down near her staff and katana. She still held a small first-aid kit and she went over to the bed, untying the sash around her arm as she did so. She crawled on, "Hey, could you..." she paused when he looked at her and her breath caught in her throat. His eyes were an amazing hazel and they looked almost like liquid gold they were so warm and soft…she wondered how she had missed it before.

She noticed what she was doing and bit her lip as she looked back at her wound for a distraction so she didn't blush, "Could you…help me bandage this?" she asked.

"Yeah." Leo placed his book down and walked over to where she was and carefully helped her bandage her arm. "Is that good?" He asked.

Brianna nodded, "Arigato," she smiled and just set the kit in some random spot on the nightstand next to her. She tied her hair in a loose ponytail at the base of her neck and laid back, "I'm exhausted…" she muttered.

"Like I said before…" Leo trailed off.

"Nani?" Bria peeked at him though tired eyes. Hell if she knew what he'd said before right now…

"Hmm, never mind," Leo said shaking his head, "Go to sleep." He commanded gently and echoed her words, "You're exhausted."

"Mm…ok…" Bria shifted onto her side facing him and she was out-cold within the next minute.

Leo smiled gently before reaching over and turned off his bedside light. It wouldn't hurt to follow her example.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Rachel groaned. There was an annoying sound, and it was annoying her badly. She carefully shifted around the makeshift bed she made with the other guys. Her night gown everywhere. She looked at the alarm clock and groaned again, 7. a.m. and it was horrible. She usually didn't wake up until eleven.

"The hell?" She whispered to herself before sitting up and looking drowsily for that sound that was annoying her.

A loud _**snore**_ came from Raphael just then.

Rachel winced before picking up her pillow and threw it halfheartedly at Raphael, "Quite idoita chico, seriously…" She fell down on her back and threw her arm over eyes. Drained, tired.

Raph didn't even budge. Just snored.

"Yo dico quieto!" She hissed as she tried to kick him from where she was. "God do you really want to wake up your hermano? Seriously, dear god." She quieted her voice after that little rant.

Raphael yawned, "Eh? Wha?" he mumbled sleepily. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and yawned again.

Michelangelo whimpered, "Ow…that hurt…" he grumbled. Rachel's kick hadn't hit Raph, but instead him.

"Nice." She muttered before throwing the covers over herself and tried to get back to sleep because of _someone_'s snoring.

An extremely loud scream echoed throughout the castle.

"Dear god just kill me now," Rachel groaned.

"What the shell was that?!" Raph and Mikey both yelled together and shot up. They ran out of the room, grabbing their weapons on the way. In the Main Room, where the TV and everything was, Lily was running from Donatello...or...the other way around. Don was trying to dodge various items being thrown at him and Lily was running to find more things.

"Who in the hell are you? What do you want? Where am I? Where's Bria?" Lily hissed and when she spotted the other two brothers things started flying in all directions.

"See what I mean? Kill me now." Rachel slumped over the railing of the stairs and then said, "Lily, my sister is with Leo and these guys we met last night. Then again, if I wait two or three minutes your going to remember all this, be highly embarrassed and happily ever after. But for right now I'm begging you to SHUT UP!" She went back into her room after that.

"Listen to Rachel, Lily, calm down," Brianna's voice came as she walked into the room, "God, don't ever wake her up when she doesn't want to be woken," she sighed and gentle placed a hand on the next thing Lily was about to throw, "Wait a couple minutes, it'll all come back," she soothed.

"Hopefully..." Donatello said as he finally sat down on a couch and then sighed as he looked around at the living room. A complete and horrid mess. He, Leo and Raph or Mikey if one of them was willing, would have to clean it up. But for now, Don kept a weary eye on Lily for a bit. It was best to leave the mess as it was. Just in case.

Just as Bria said, Lily blinked after a couple of minutes and then gasped. If Bria hadn't been holding onto the item she had in her hands, it would have broken. She looked around and slapped a hand to her mouth, "Oh my gosh! Sumimasen, minna!" she cried, horrified at the mess she had caused. She saw Don looking at a cut he had curiously, "Oh, Donatello, I hurt you!" she bit her lip, "Let me see," she went over and took his arm gently.

In the background, Donatello could hear Raph and Mikey teasing about what was going on. "It's not bad," Donatello assured, "I had worse."

She ran a hand over his wound, "I'm sure…I see the scars, Donatello," she murmured and then pulled her hand away, the wound completely healed with no scar left behind, just a smidge of blood. She grinned and her sun-drop-colored eyes sparkled, "It worked!"

"You never did it before?" Leo and Donatello asked together at the same time. Leo had been in the hallway, out of the way and out of sight, just in case Lily's rage sights went on to him. He glanced over when Mikey and Raph snickered.

"Iie, I never had to try before," Lily smiled.

"I see," Donatello said with a small smile.

Lily turned back and once again saw the mess, "I'll clean this up. You guys go get something to eat," she said.

"I'll help," Donatello offered.

"Are we going to have a trial of stubborn-ness or will you let me do it on my own? I caused it, I'll clean it," Lily said and was already at it.

Don blinked but then smiled, "Alright." He got up from the couch and turned to Leo. "Let's go get something to eat and..." he turned to Bria, "Should we wake up your sister? Even though she is in her bad mood?"

"She's unconscious, don't bother," Bria yawned, "I'm going to go get dressed and then I'll join you soon…" She waved her hand and was off back to Leo's room.

"I suppose that means she'll wake up whenever she feels like it." Leo translated to himself. "Shall we?" He turned to Donatello who nodded.

Don turned to Lily, "Are you sure you don't want me to help?"

"Mm-hmm…" Lily murmured as she fixed another broken item.

"Alright," Don said, "I'll save you something."

"You do that…" Lily called back.

Raph sighed, "I'll start the coffee," he said and disappeared into the kitchen.

About 15 minute later, Brianna came into the kitchen as she was tying off her wet-haired braid. Something interesting about her hair was the fact that the dark brown turned almost black but the natural dark red highlights turned a bright crimson. So with them together in a braid it looked positively stunning.

Leo didn't know wether he should compliment or ignore it. His first idea was to compliment, but...with the looks he's been getting from Raph and Mikey, he had a feeling that it was best to ignore for now.

She stretched as she got in the doorway and then stopped dead in her tracks. She looked up and a heated glare was sent toward the coffee maker, "Is that…coffee?" she asked carefully.

"WHAT KIND OF IDIOTS ARE YOU?" Bria shouted, "Coffee? COFFEE? Dead god, it's absolutely horrible and extremely bad for you!" she grabbed a coffee cup and shoved it in a random face out of the four, "See those spots at the bottom of the cup?! That's the ACID eating through the porcylin! Who in their right mind would drink COFFEE with that kind of knowledge?!" she snapped.

She took the cup with he to the sink and put hot water in it before rummaging through the cupboards and found a box of Constant Comet Tea, "Why can't you all be healthy and drink TEA instead?" she asked and put the bag into the cup before setting it on the stove fore a few minutes. Once it was warm she looked through the fridge, found and apple, and went into the Main Room.

The door to the guest room opened and Rachel was tying her hair up in a high pony tail. Today, she decided to wear jean shorts and a black shirt. She walked into the kitchen to see that everyone was exchanging glances, "What?" She asked.

"She really hates coffee that much…doesn't she?" Raph asked.

"Oh you got the infamous lecture too? This is why I love walking with her down the street just so I can stop and get something to drink and have her yell at me." Rachel said brightly, "In short terms. Yeah, she hates it that much."

"Scaaary," Raph and Mikey said together.

"You get used to it and when you do, you'll find things to bug her with. For an example...ever had iced coffee?" Rachel asked as she looked through the cabinets.

"DON'T GIVE THEM ANY IDEAS! Unless it's frap chino mixed with a whole much of mint chocolate…that isn't too bad…"

"I don't like frap chinos. Lattes, Cappuccinos, Regular coffee, but other than that, heh," Rachel shook her head, "And you'd never guess we're related."

"I'd rather not get her angry at me…that may possibly be scarier then when I annoy Raph," Mikey grinned.

Rachel's eyebrows raised high. "I believe that you should annoy him a bit more than usual. I'll help out today." She grinned. "Now...where are they?" She closed the cabinets and started looking through another set.

Raphael had been about to say something, but then shrugged it off, "What are you looking for?"

"A cup. And then maybe where you keep the pans?" Rachel requested.

"Cups are here," Raph opened a cupboard, "Pans are down here," he opened a couple cabinets.

"Thanks..." Rachel said as she took a cup down and placed it to the side and then grabbed a pan and walked over to the stove and turned it on to heat. She walked back and shut the doors and poured herself some coffee.

"It seems you three girls have made yourselves right at home…" Master Splinter said from the doorway, "Perhaps after breakfast we will find out who you really are? We will do the same for you, of course."

Rachel jumped and nearly spilt coffee. She took a deep breath, "You startled me there for a second."

"Forgive me, I did not mean to," Splinter nodded apologetically and he made himself some tea.

"Its alright," Rachel laughed as she moved to the side and went to the fridge and took things out that she was going make breakfast with. "Who we really are?" She asked aloud. She looked upwards and then started working on what she was doing on the stove when she said, "Oh, sis promised that she'd tell you everything if you told us everything. I must be more tired than I thought." She muttered to herself. "Either that or this was just too much excitement for one day."

"Very well, then I will ask her," Master Splinter said as he walked back out.

Rachel sighed as he left, "I'm no good at storytelling. At least sis might be able to cover all the bases without me."

"It would still be nice to hear what's going on," Raphael said and followed his sensei and father.

"Yeah, storytelling is fun to listen to," Mikey laughed and bounded after them.

Leonardo sighed but set down the cup and stared at it for a while. He never was one to drink coffee, so tea was one thing he'd go for. He looked over at Rachel, "Are you coming?" He asked.

"Um…no. No." Rachel said. "Not right now anyway. Can't leave the stove…"

Leo smiled, "Alright. Well, come when you can. Are you?" He turned to Donatello for this question.

"Yes," Don looked over at Rachel. "I'm guessing your going to do a Lily and say that your fine doing it by yourself?"

"Yeah, don't worry. I won't burn down the kitchen," Rachel assured.

Don smiled and then said, "Well I hope you wouldn't."

"Don't JINX me!" Rachel pleaded. "I really, really already had a bad morning start Don, and I don't want a bad morning at all."

Donatello laughed, "I was teasing. Let's go." Leo nodded and the duo left the kitchen leaving Rachel by her lonesome.

Back in the Main Room, Lily was in the middle of the spotless floor blushing a bit. "Ah, hello," she nodded to the two, "We were waiting for you. Bria told me to go first, since my story takes longer and goes back further…have a seat, and I'll begin."

Leonardo and Don walked over and sat down next to their brothers and waited for her to begin.

Lily took turned a bit, closing her eyes as she thought, deciding she could add everything now and they would understand. She had only told Rachel bits and pieces, but this was going to be more detailed, "I hope you'll be able to keep up…I'm sure it'll bore a couple of you, but if it does I don't care…" she sighed and took a breath.

She let it out slowly, and told her story. She moved and added actions and displayed parts to give a more accurate vision of what she was saying. She was glad that this even kept the orange-clad one, the one who bored easily, awake and alert. He and the others seemed to be just as interested, if not more, and then Rachel had. She didn't bother hiding tears at the right parts this time, either, though it was much easier the more she told it.


	14. Chapter 14

Its fun playing Splinter-san

Also, the stuff about me in here is true

Enjoy!

Chapter 14

With a sigh, Lily wrapped up the story with when Angel came to the apartment and then finished it with when they had left. "So…that's pretty much it…" she said with a meek shrug.

Stunned silence. Donatello and Leonardo both exchanged glances at each other. The story made little, but a lot of sense. Not only that, it explained a few things as well. "You weren't kidding when you said your story was a long one." Don said finally. He didn't really know what to say to the whole thing.

Lily blushed lightly and rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah, well…" she trailed off and then shyly cleared her throat, "Um…Bria-chan, you're turn…" she said shifting from foot to foot.

Bria chuckled and got up, "Alright," she said and then traded spots with the Neko, "Well, Lily covered most of the past few days, so I'll just start with my own story…" she let out a puff of air, blowing her bags out of her face only to have them fall into more of a mess. She brushed them out of her eyes and then told how she came to New York.

She finished that bit off easily, playing with the garnet ring she had on her left ring finger as well as the sapphire one on her right ring finger; the only tokens of her past besides the rope necklace around her neck.

Brianna paused and thought for a moment, "Ah, then I got hooked up with the Purple Dragons...However, I don't participate in any of the thefts…I stop most of them, really. I gathered information for them, and in return they let me join...of course after I completely smoked the gang in that fighting ring of theirs. Man, that was fun, and many can't seem to get enough rematches…" she laughed once.

She waved her hand, "Anyway, after I joined and was able to do more work for them, they started to pay me. It's more of a job to me then being a part of a street gang..." she shrugged, "Then…those Triceratops creatures paid a visit. My clairvoyance, telepathy, and ability to see the Past heightened exponentially...as well as the thefts. I just new I had to do something, so I created the Aka Ryuu.

"Suddenly, I was the biggest threat to them, but I couldn't do it on my own. That's how my sister, Rachel, and Angel got involved." Bria smiled, "Though I was the biggest enemy to the Purple Dragons, I wasn't the greatest," she grinned, "Through the whispers in the shadows, I heard that there was a group of four unnamed 'alien' creatures. I know now that those whispers were about you guys."

"So you knew Angel after or before the Purple Dragons?" Donatello asked, "Just making sure I'm following along."

"After," Bria answered, "This is cliché, but I honestly did bump into her on the streets. Because my power to see the Past can sometimes mix instantly with a person's aura, I knew she knew of the Purple Dragons."

Don nodded slightly. Made sense. He looked at Leonardo who questioned, "Have you always had the ability to see the Past?"

Bria thought for a moment, "Actually...no, I have not. Before the Triceratops, it was more the ability to _remember_ the Past. That's why I dwell on things longer than I should, and when I find something funny I laugh longer and harder because it keeps popping up in my mind."

Leo nodded and leaned back slightly. This also made sense. Donatello smiled slightly and then turned back to see if she had more to say.

"Oh! Dang it, I forgot about Karai-dono," Bria palmed her forehead, "Baka…"

Raphael narrowed his eyes. Now this was one thing he wanted to know. He looked at Leonardo who was alert and rigid. Karai was quite important…he was forced to remember as he saw the _still_ healing torn part of his brother's shell.

"That might be a good idea," Don said, "You mentioned Karai back at the fight with Hun. I was wondering what that was all about."

Brianna nodded, "Hai, well…" she bit her lip, "I met Karai shortly after I became a full-fledged member of the Purple Dragons. She had been there…cloaked, in the shadows, watching as I fought and beat down the other members…including Hun himself. She seemed to like me…enjoyed watching me fight and my unique style. You see, what makes me deadly and dangerous is the fact that I mix my Taekwondo with my strong technique and talent to dance."

She looked away, "She took me to her HQ that night, and had me fight many of her Foot ninja. I was quite wiped out, and my asthma had started to kick in, but I managed. They were all on the floor within 15 minutes. Thankfully, Karai-dono let me stay with her that night, and the next day when I was back up and ready to go, I fought _her_. God…with both of us at our top it was a freakin' scary _tie_."

"A tie?" Leo asked. He blinked and then said. "Impressive."

Bria waved her hand, embarrassed, "She nearly beat the…" she saw Master Splinter's hard stare and she struggled for a word, "Um…shell out of me, though," she smiled nervously, "Well…she offered me to be a part of the Foot…one of her top people……" she trailed off.

"And did you?" Donatello asked raising an eyebrow at the struggle. He had to hide a smile. Master Splinter made everyone nervous, it just surprised him that Bria just noticed it. He didn't see the hard stare, but Leo did and smiled outwardly.

"I tell you now, it was extremely tempting," Bria smiled and rubbed the back of her neck, "But I said no. Something told me no…that it would have been a _bad_ idea. However, I did take the offer to occasionally come and train her people," she admitted.

"Better than nothing," Leonardo commented, "I'm sure she wouldn't have liked it if you refused her whole offer of joining."

"Exactly, and besides," Bria grinned, "She really isn't as bad as some might think," she laughed, "When she's able to have some fun and let loose, she's a wonderful woman to know. Man, the poor girl, she just has a nasty past and – no matter who it's to and how she feels about it at some point afterward – if she Honor-bound she's Honor-bound. She regrets many things, and if she could change the Past she would."

"However much we wish to change the Past." Rachel said from the kitchen, "Its not gonna happen unless it has something to with you, Miss Troublemaker!"

"What did I do now?!" Bria looked freaked out.

"I didn't say you did anything. God!" Rachel groaned. "I just said that as much as we regret things in the past, there's no way we can change them. All we can do is smile, apologize, laugh, live," She shrugged. "Live in present, forget about the…no then I'll be hypocritical. Never mind," She shook her head, "Forget I said anything!"

"Pffft…" Bria huffed; "Sure…" she rolled her eyes and stretched, "Any other questions? I'd be happy to answer them, no matter what they are."

"Then you don't mind if we train with you?" Leonardo asked looking at Bria.

"Not a bad idea…" Don mused to himself.

"Why don't they all train with us this morning?" Splinter asked his sons, "I'm sure it would be nice for them to have a bit of variety in who they spar with?" he said that a bit louder for the girl in the kitchen to hear.

Rachel had finished eating and was lounging in the kitchen, so she wouldn't have to tell her story. She never liked telling stories. Stories were meant to be listened too, not told by her. However, what was she supposed to do with this question? "Sure, I guess?" She said sounding unsure.

"I don't mind," Brianna shrugged, "Let me grab my glasses…" she said.

"Glasses? You weren't wearing them last night, why do you need them now?" Leo asked confused.

"You mean you didn't notice the difference?" Bria turned back to look at him. Her ocean eyes were hazy, a bit darker, and unfocused, not clear and sharp like the night before.

"Not till now." Leo said shaking his head. "Remember? Lilly screamed and everything was in a rush. I wouldn't have time to notice something like that."

"You had plenty of time when I was storytelling…but whatever," Brianna sighed, "It's a big weakness to me if there happens to be a fight or heist during the day. I'm as blind as a bat in the daytime. I've only been able to move around so easily because of what I saw when my vision was clear. Hawk-eye is a nickname several have given me for the Shadow Hours. At night I can see a helicopter 5 miles away no problem."

"That's why we attack during the nighttime," Rachel came out of the kitchen assuming it was safe, "If we didn't, we'd lose upper hand, and I'd have to fight."

Leo looked from Bria to Rachel back to Bria. "Makes sense to why," He said, "You're pretty careful not attacking during the day then."

"……Sometimes careful," Rachel said with a small smile, "That's usually my fault though."

Bria chuckled, "I'll join you in a minute," she said and sprinted off to find her glasses.

_'I feel like she laid a trap…' _Rachel thought to herself, _'But I doubt it.'_

"Come on, this way," Raphael said and grabbed Rachel's arm. He was interested to see how this girl fought.

"You may have free-style training today," Master Splinter said, "Do what you will," he bowed and walked off to do something else.

"Yeah! Free-style training that means I…" Mikey was cut off.

"That's _not_ what I meant, Michelangelo. No video-games or comics until after 1," Splinter's call came.

"Awww!" Mikey sulked.

_'She did trap me…'_ Rachel pouted. "I'm not much of a fighter." she said quickly, "You guys would have more fun training with Bria."

"I'm not either…sure I'm a swift learner, but I have no practice with any kind of weapon…" Lily said quietly, as if to help Rachel out.

"We'll teach you one." Donatello said lightly to Lily. "As for you, you have to be in the Aka Ryuu for some reason. You couldn't have gotten in as a fluke."

"Exactly," Raph smirked, "There's no gettin' outa this."

"Yeah! I'm sure we'll have TONS of fun!" Michelangelo said cheerfully.

"For you it'd be fun Mikey." Rachel said. "For me? I'm just a wallflower. No one pays any attention to me, so I barely fight."

Lily said nothing. Though, what of her? If it wasn't for the freckles on her cheeks they could tell she was blushing. However, she wasn't going to stand by and be the only quiet one to fight, "Come on, Rachel…It'll be fine…"

"Fine, I'll play along," Rachel could see defeat. No way out of it, just like Raph said. "Just don't blame me if you don't get a challenge."

"Oh don't start that about not being a challenge, Esu!" Brianna piped up, "You're always complaining how you never get a challenge, and you were getting tired of sparing with me. In fact, you're always complaining…so stop it and just deal!"

Rachel bowed her head and she could hear them laugh, "…Thanks for that." She sighed to her sister.

"Sorry…" Bria sighed, "Let's go, it'll be fun," she said soothingly and grabbed her sister's other arm.

_'Yeah…no way out of this…'_ Rachel sulked as she followed them.


	15. Training

Training

They got to the training room and saw Don and Leonardo had already set everything up. "It seems we're partnering up?" Brianna asked raising an eyebrow.

"Raph and I get Rachel!" Mikchelangelo shouted out before anyone could say anything.

Lily and Bria sweatdropped, "Ok then…"

Rachel sweatdropped as well but then said, "Alright!" _'Perfect!'_ She smiled, _'If I team up with two then I won't have to fight so much.'_

Lily and Bria shook their heads as the trio walked off and then the two went over to Blue and Purple. "So," Bria said, "What's the plan?"

"I'll teach Lily how to use the Bo, since Mikey and Raph claimed Rachel, looks like you and Leo are the only pair left."

Leonardo nodded, "We'll spar using just martial arts for now. We'll use weapons later."

"Sure thing," Brianna grinned and set her own Bo and katana off to the side.

"Fine with me," Lily smiled.

Rachel just blinked for a while and then turned to the other two, "So what are we doing?" She asked.

"Martial arts," Raphael said.

Rachel sweatdropped, oh boy…… "Two against one? All against all?" she asked.

"Two against one," Mikey grinned.

"Then whose the one?!" Rachel asked.

"We can do you and me against Mikey, if you want," Raph said, all for the idea.

"How about I go with Mikey?" Rach asked grinning a bit.

Raphael blinked, but shrugged, "Ok," he agreed.

"Let's win," Rachel said cheerfully to Mikey.

"Yeah!" Michelangelo grinned and the two attacked the second oldest brother.

"Crud…" Raph managed to squeak and then everything was a blur.

Brianna stared from hers and Leo's spot, "Good grief, what does your brother do? Snore?" she asked.

"Yeah," Leo said watching them fight for a bit. "Amazingly we still get sleep, he's loud."

Bria cracked up laughing. She hadn't expected to be right so she laughed a bit harder. No freakin' wonder her sister had been ready to kill someone that morning.

Leonardo blinked and looked at her, "Should I ask?" He asked aloud. "What's so funny?"

"I didn't…expect to be right!" Bria giggled.

Leo smiled. Words failed him, but at least he knew a bit.

"Alright then!" Bria grinned, "Let's spar!"

Leonardo smirked, "Alright." He said, "Let's begin," He did a spinning kick at Bria.

Brianna blinked at his speed, but decided to block instead of duck. Her eyes turned green with the adrenaline of the fight and she pushed him off. He didn't even stagger, and she was impressed by that. She jumped and did a strike with her right foot first and then brought her left one in. She called it a Double Jump Front Kick, but that was only because she didn't know the rightful name.

Leo blocked the first one but didn't dodge the second one and got hit. He did a side kick at Bria and wondered if she could dodge it.

Bria twirled out of the way right there in the air, but still got her side grazed. She narrowed her eyes and feigned to the left and pretended like she was gonna punch with her right fist but when he went to block she smirked and twirled, striking his plastron with her elbow. 'Dear god that hurt!' she screamed mentally but since he staggered back she showed no outward sign of it as she ducked and rolled away from him.

When Leo staggered he watched her roll away, 'She's good.' He thought to himself as he did another attack at her.

Brianna just dodged and since she was on the ground she swiped her legs under him

Leo fell down onto his back and rolled over to get up on his knees. He watched her steadily. Sometimes, it was best to watch and then dodge and then attack. He deemed it safe to do that sort of method.

Bria got up the same way and the two of them stayed locked and ready in a crouch. They studied each other, and she was about to pounce when Donatello went flying overhead. The sudden distraction from their concentration made both stagger and she fell forward. She pushed herself up and gaped at the heap in the corner, "Don?!"

"I'm okay," Don laughed as he got himself together and managed to get up, "Ouch…" He muttered to himself.

"Donny! Oh my gosh, that's twice today, I'm sorry!" Lily came scrambling over, her Bo staff in hand, "I didn't mean to hit you so hard!"

"Expect to get hurt when your training," Don said with a laugh, "You're pretty good."

Lily blushed lightly, "Thanks…though I told you I wasn't very experienced with weapons...I'm just glad that wasn't a katana or a Sai…"

"Its fine," Donatello assured. "Let's keep practicing."

"Ok," Lily nodded and the two went back to their beginning spot.

Brianna blinked, "Ok then…I don't think she realized she called him _Donny_. The trio of laughers over there is snickering away…" she stared at the said three; Rachel, Raphael, and Michelangelo.

Rachel had been fighting with Raph along side with Mikey. She was holding on to Mikey's arm with one hand and her eyes had been closed until that crash made her lose concentration. Now that it was over, "Let's keep sparring." She said as she tried to contain her laughter.

"Whatever you say," Raph smirked. This was just getting better and better.

"Let's continue, too," Bria said as she stood up and got back into her stance.

"Of coarse," Leonardo said.

Brianna pounced first this time, starting off with a Hook Kick.

Leo dodged just barely and went and kicked her back with a spinning left kick.

Bria dodged and threw a punch into his plastron. This time she did wince in pain and she did a back flip, clipping his chin with her foot as she turn upside down and she stood back up a few feet away, holding her hand, "God…note to self, _don't_ hit a turtle's plastron…" she growled through gritted teeth. As she watched his amused look she scanned the rest of his body and noticed for the first time how well built he was. Muscles he didn't flaunt yet were obvious and there to intimidate. She rubbed her hand still, "Frick…"

"Careful and don't try to hit so hard you hurt yourself, but that warning is a little late..." said Leo with a slight smile.

"Gah! One, I've never had very good upper-body strength. Two, _it's like hitting rock-hard abs_!" she stared at him in disbelief.

"I train often." Leo shrugged, "Upper and lower."

Bria sighed and shook her head, "Fine then…I'll turn this up a notch," she said and the flickered out of sight.

"Uh oh…" Rachel stumbled a bit when she heard her sister and made Mikey dodge Raphael and carefully used that distraction to try to take a peek over, "This isn't good."

What's up?" Michelangelo asked and looked at her curiously.

"What ain't good?" Raphael also stopped.

"Sis, don't kill him!" Rach called out to her.

"Wha…?" Raph and Mikey both stole shocked glances at each other.

Brianna was next seen in the air swinging her right leg around and the turtle leader barely had enough time to block before it collided with him and sent him skidding across the floor.

Leonardo smirked, "So you were holding back?" He asked her.

"I'm not the only one," Bria answered lightly touching the floor, staying on the balls of her feet. She had decided not to wear shoes today, figuring they wouldn't go outside until after dark.

"True," Leo said as he used more of his strength in his kick to go against Bria.

Bria smirked and leaned back and to the side. She hooked her arm around his leg and threw her whole body into throwing him. He easily caught himself and then the two were a whirl, twirl, and blur and limbs, punches, kicks, dodges, and blocks.

"Oh dear…" Rachel said as she tried to keep up with the sparring.

"Whoa," Mikey stared in amazement, "Bro, have you ever seen Leo like this?" he asked Raph in a hushed voice, fearful that if he was too loud he might ruin this awesome scene. Raph shook his head.

Rach rubbed the back of her neck and then said, "See why I let her do most of my battles?"

"Yeah…" the two nodded in unison.

"She says she has asthma," Raphael said, "I haven't seen any signs of that yet…was she telling the truth?"

"Yeah, she's tellin' the truth," Rachel pretended to check a non-existent watch, "Sooner or later she's going to collapse. And if this was a real fight, then I'd come in, throw some magic, and run like hell."

Raph blinked, but then just turned to watch as Donatello and Lily had to move out of the way as Leonardo and Brianna started taking up almost the whole room. The two jumped up to join them.

"This is fascinating…Has your brother ever been so happy?" Lily asked Don.

"Not this happy, no," Donatello said shaking his head, "This is different for all of us."

"Wow…" Lily said and turned back to the sparing. She could feel the rise in power and the speed was getting faster and faster with each second. The complexity of their movements was astounding.

Rachel was counting down in her head when she'd have to go and save her sister. Never had Bria lasted long with her asthma.

However, what shocked them was when a very agonized cry echoed throughout the room. All of a sudden the blurs became people and they saw a surprised Brianna bouncing off of Leonardo's shell. The three brothers knew immediately what had happened.

"LEO!" Raph and Mikey called as they watched their leader and brother come crashing down onto the floor. The blue-clad turtle curled up into a ball on his left side and his brothers came rushing to him.

Donatello followed his older and younger brothers and carefully got to Leo's side and looked at the wound, "At least she didn't open it, but the force it was applied mustn't have helped much."

"Oh my god…Don…what in the hell did I do…?" Bria asked from behind them. They had gotten to their brother before she had even touched the ground from the air. She looked absolutely horrified at what had happened. She bit her lip, fighting tears.

"When Karai fought Leo, she hurt him pretty bad and the wound isn't all the way healed." Donatello said, "You shouldn't worry, he'll be okay…I think."

"Comforting words until the oh so dreadful 'I think'." Rachel said.

Lily lightly hit Rachel's arm, "You're not helping…" she whispered.

"I'm not supposed to be helping am I?" Rach blinked.

Lily shook her head and then jerked her head in Bria's direction, "What you said wasn't the greatest…"

Bria's bottom lip quivered as she opened her mouth to try and take deep breaths, "Sh-should I t-take him to his r-room?" she stammered shifting. She was trying so hard not to cry…

"If you're good at carrying someone," Donatello said, "I can do it, and you can follow if you want."

_'Then that means Leo passed out…I didn't notice because I can't see…'_ Bria gritted her teeth for a second, "A-Alright…you do that…" she said.

Donatello moved and carefully placed Leo's arm over his shoulder and walked out of the training room with Brianna following him.

Rachel bit her lip as she watched and said, "I told her not to kill him…"

"I don't think that was intentional, though," Michelangelo protested lightly.

"I know." Rach said to him. Anyone else, she would have argued with, but for some reason, she couldn't argue with the happy-go-lucky kid. "Still," She bit her lip. "I sort of wonder...if when I called she missed her aim."

"That's possible," Raphael nodded.

"Then Bria's going to demand a fight," Rachel winced, "I'm so hiding later on."

"She might not do anything," Lily tried.

"You never know with sis," Rachel replied.

Lily pursed her lips, but went over to the rack and put the Bo staff away before leaving the training room.

"Should we keep sparring?" Rachel turned to the other two that was in the room.

"If ya want," Raph shrugged.

"Sure," Mikey nodded.

"Great!" Rachel grinned and got back with Mikey, "We're still fighting against you."

"Aw!" Raphael huffed but got into his stance and prepared. Soon, the trio was off again.


	16. Fake Fight Gone Bad

Whoa…When I RP chapters get done a whole lot faster and a simple idea turns into tons of chapters. I was intending for just a couple more, but this works, I guess.

I've really been neglecting the introductions, so, I'll start again, but it won't be at the beginning. It's longer, and it's not exactly the type of introduction I'd like…it'll work though.

This chapter will be extremely quick.

Enjoy!

Fake Fight Gone Bad

Leonardo woke up feeling something wet on his arm. He was still a bit unfocused but his eyes turned to the clock and saw it was around ten. He blinked and then looked to his side.

Brianna had curled up into a ball against his arm and had buried her face there. Something sparkled on the corner of her eye in the light.

Leo blinked and then sighed. He didn't have a lot of strength to push her off or to wake her. Letting her sleep was a better idea.

He didn't have to do either. She sensed he was awake and blinked her eyes open. Bria rubbed her eyes and she realized they were still damp. She wiped them until they were dry and then looked at him. She didn't have her glasses on, but she didn't need them, "Leo…are you ok?" she asked softly, "I missed my aim, it was an accident, I didn't mean to hurt you…"

"It's alright," Leo said, "Honest, things happen in training."

She ran a hand around the area of his wound and was able to make it a soothing touch, "Are you sure?" she bit her lip.

"Yeah," Leonardo smiled at her, "You shouldn't worry too much."

"Yet I do…" Bria sighed and sat up, "I think you should stay in bed a little bit longer…Need anything to drink?"

"No, no thanks," Leo shook his head.

"Ok, then I'll just stay here," Bria said and got up to go rummage though his collection of books. She found one and joined him back on the bed. She was about to open the book when she heard a soft rumble outside and then the hard pouring of water overhead. She blinked and looked around, seeing for the first time that Leo had a window. The drapes matched the color of his room, so it sort of blended in. She got up and went to it, opening it, "It's raining!" she grinned, "It smells wonderful…" she breathed in deeply as a blast of air brought the fresh scent in.

Leo blinked, "I didn't hear the rain." He listened for a bit and then said, "Your right. It is calming isn't it?" He looked at her.

"Very…" Bria smiled peacefully, "I wonder when it started…it was bright and sunny not too long ago," she shrugged, "Oh well…" she smiled softly again and got back onto the bed. She laid back and just read.

**--A Year Later--**

**Seventeen…wow. Me and my bros are all 17 now. About four days ago on October 31, 2009; for those who like to be exact; it's now November 5****th****. Anyway…right now I'm laying flat on the street, this strange woman looming over me with one of my Sai in her hand which happens to be dripping in MY blood. A Foot had attacked me while I was off-guard, and now I was slowly slipping into unconsciousness. I heard the screeching familiar tires of the Battle Shell whirling around corners coming toward us…**

**I looked back again at the woman…and saw she was simply looking at my weapon worriedly and then at me with a deep frown. However, from what I imagined my brothers saw as they rounded the corner to our exact location, I KNEW that was NOT what they were seeing. To them, it seemed as though this teenager was about to kill me, or already had…**

Raphael was out on patrol with Casey havin' a little fun and poundin' the common crook here and there. The two had stopped to rest on a rooftop, and Raph was just daydreamin' away. He was brought out of his thoughts, though, when Casey hit him lightly over the head with his hockey stick. He had his mask on, so something really must be up.

"Yo, Raph, we seem to have ourselves a bit o' trouble…" Casey pointed downward. The people fighting had moved from the alleyway into the streets where a soft light was instead of the pitch black alley.

"The FOOT?!" both men hissed in surprise and anger. The Foot Ninja had not given any of them an ounce of trouble since a friend of theirs, Brianna, had shown and talked some sense into Karai. However, now it seemed they were back up and back with a vengeance. There seemed to be only ten of them, however, so that was good...

Then whoever they were fighting with jumped into the light of a street lamp.

A woman with long black hair and teal colored eyes was fighting them. She had on a black bandana around her forehead with the symbol of the Foot on it. She had a katana on her left hip and she was using a Bo staff to ward her enemies off. All of a sudden, she flashed and next had her Bo strapped diagonally across her back and her katana in hand.

All that happened within the span of a second…

"Whoa…" the turtle and human stared. Then Casey spoke, "A Foot fightin' a Foot? What's up with that?"

Raph took out his Sai and twirled them, "Who cares, it's time to fight!" he laughed and jumped on down.

Casey quickly followed. "Hello, boys, miss us?" he asked with a laugh as he whacked a Ninja upside the head with his stick. The Foot lackey crumbled in a heap to the ground.

The woman looked at them and she grinned. _'Yes! It's them!'_ her eyes sparkled, "Arigato, Casey, Raphael, for coming to help," she nodded respectfully as she deflected an attack.

Raphael and Casey stared a brief moment, "How…" they weren't able to finish as they were attacked full-force. There were now a total of fifteen or twenty...how had the numbers risen so quickly? They had no time to wonder or ask questions, however, so they just continued to fight.

They all fought for what seemed for forever, and the boys saw the woman fought much like a ninja. Then, after a bit, Raph tossed Casey his Shell Cell, "Call my bros, we need their help," he ordered and Casey nodded, running off so he could do just that.

However, this was when Raph was caught being distracted. A shuriken caught him in his chest and he gasped in pain.

"Raphael!" The teenager called, a bit fearful, and she twirled and attacked with more force, her teal eyes turning hazel.

Raph pulled the weapon out of his plastron and didn't stop fighting. Casey had disappeared off somewhere unknown, so they did not have his help. The turtle noted as he got a closer look at the mystery girl that she had elf-like ears…yet they had black fur on the tips. Her nails were long, like a cat's, and her grace was flawless. She reminded him a lot of Brianna Knight, Leo's love fetish. Yet, there was something completely different about her…something…inhuman.

He couldn't finish his thoughts because he was caught off-guard. His own weapon was used against him as he was struck down. He lay on the ground, dazed. The smell of salt and copper hit his nose and he felt the liquid spreading around his plastron and then flowing down to pool around his body.

"Iya! Raphael!" the cry came. As did the screeching of tires far off in the distance. Soon, the mystery girl had a hold of the Sai and was leaning over him, "Raph, this going to hurt..." she told him. He nodded and she pulled his Sai out of his stomach. The mystery woman looked at it and furrowed her brows, then looked back at him with worry. Noting the fact that he was fading, she put her hand on his cheek, eyes green and wide with concern, "Stay awake, Raphael," she ordered. Then she bent to place one hand on his wound and her palm glowed golden orange.

Though, before his wound could completely be healed, she was hit from behind and flew into a nearby light pole. She gasped in surprise and caught herself from collapsing. She looked up, watching as the red-clad turtle was loaded into the back of an armored truck and locked eyes with the Humanoid Cat, Lily. They both stood and took a step in each other's direction, but the doors were shut and the Battle Shell zoomed off.

With a sigh, the woman reached down and picked up the bloodied Sai. She pocketed it and then went to pick up her katana. She sheathed that and then closed her eyes. Soon, she was following the truck as she Teleported as the Wind; invisible to anyone and everyone, and unable to be sensed by others no matter whom they were.

'_What a fascinating start to the night…'_ Nao thought as she landed a safe distance from the turtles' home and decided to sleep and wait there in the park until morning. That would give them enough time to do what they needed to. She looked behind her at the ten 'Foot Ninja' that had joined her, "Alright, all of you, who harmed him?" she hissed.

"None of us harmed the turtle, Nao-dono," one responded. He took off his mask and he was Daisuke.

"Then who could have done it, Daisuke-san?" Nao asked.

Another removed his mask, and it was Atsushi, "Real Foot Ninja slipped through during the fake fight…"

Nao thought for a moment, remembering the fight, "There were 15 extra!" she exclaimed. She growled and pointed toward the city, "Go, depart, and find the one who harmed Raphael! Dispose of him right away," she ordered. She _never_ ordered them around, and she NEVER ordered them to kill someone, so they stood straight and bowed before disappearing into the shadows.

Nao turned to face the castle with its dim lights inside. With a small sigh of sadness she found a spot to sleep…


	17. Experiment

Old Friends Meet Again

This one will be rather long, but the last one was short and fast so it's all good.

Bold is for the language change, my Japanese friend would take too long to get this squirt away. Though, when she does I'll post the updated version, k?

Enjoy!

Experiment

Once again talking to my Soul Sister…I never thought it would happen. Then again, I didn't think a lot of things would happen a year ago, but they did. Things have changed between the two of us, but I guess that's how things go when you live in different worlds for a long time. Daisuke and Atsushi found the Foot that harmed Raphael and didn't let him escape, but what Kimiko said about that was intriguing…What else was to happen?

--

Rachel was seething. No...she wasn't. She was confused and livid about it. Not only that…Surprisingly, she was also trying to control the urge to make Donatello stop the car, or whoever was driving. She didn't know what she was doing or anything. When they got back to the castle, she finally felt a headache and she leaned against the wall. This…was…so awesome she wanted to bite her tongue and die.

She trembled as she watched them rush around and about. She stayed in the dark. The headache was killing her. She knew why, it always happened. Headache comes on, Rachel's unconscious and there goes her body, walking and swaying, hair down and laughing. Yeah…an image that usually made her a perfect target. The X in Lynx. Rachel groaned silently as she knelt on the ground. She was going to suppress it as long as she could.

"Rachel? Hey, we're here," Lily's voice tried penetrating through Rachel's haze, "Everyone's inside, I came back out to get you."

"Can't…" Rachel muttered. "Get…sis…" After she said the words, she felt her eyes close. Damn it…X was going to have so much fun.

"Bria's inside helping Donny," Lily said. She frowned and placed a hand on Rachel's shoulder, "Hey, what's wrong?"

The girl's eyes opened and then smiled when she saw who it was. Reaching out she petted Lily's head just briefly. "**Lily-chan, you've grown**!" She said in Japanese. Her eyes were sparkling. She looked around and then at herself. "**Now, Bria-chan is helping Donny-kun?**" She turned to Lily, "**Then I better go**," She got out of the car and went inside.

Lily stared. She recognized this…Her eyes widened and she closed the doors to the Battle Shell before following the girl.

Kimiko looked and then found Brianna, Leonardo, Michelangelo and Donatello. "**Bria-chan! Bria-chan!**" She winced as she looked at Raphael and then said still in Japanese, "**Is he going to be okay?**"

Bria was trying to keep the wound from bleeding, "**I'm not sure, he's lost a lot of blood…I'm trying to keep pressure on the wound so it'll clot.**" A year ago she would have needed Lily to translate…but she had used the Rosetta Stone for it, so was fluent.

"I'm surprised the wound's not as deep as it should be," Mikey murmured as he helped, "Bro's Sai is missing, so that was the weapon used."

Kimiko bit her lip and then said, "**I'm going to go and find my Onee-san,**" She nodded over at Raphael. "**She can explain everything and she can heal him up quicker than we can. Choudai, Bria-chan?**"

"**Onee-san…wait, **_**Kimiko-chan**_**?**" Bria stared at the girl and noted the sparkle in her brown eyes, "**Sumimasen, I didn't realize it was you. My mind was else-where,**" she nodded, "**Hai, go find her, but be quick, choudai.**"

"On it," Kimiko said in English before turning to Donatello and stole his staff, "Borrowing this." She ran out of the house yelling, "BYE!"

"Ok then…" Lily smiled slightly, "Wonderful…after a year's time I'll see her again," she chuckled.

"Mind explaining what that was?" Leo asked Lily as he turned to her.

"All will be explained soon, do not worry, Leo," Lily said in a soft assuring voice.

**--Central Park Forest--**

Kimiko wasn't an idiot. Lucky for her, Rachel was eighteen. If she wasn't, Kimiko would have landed Rachel in jail even though if someone felt like tattling, Rachel could get a life-sentence. She got on her motorcycle that was pure red, like Raphael's, and drove off to find her sister. _'I gotta find her…time is ticking. Can't afford to waste it…'_

Nao had found a good place to sleep and had just decided to close her eyes and blank her mind when she felt the familiar presence._ 'It couldn't be…could it?'_ she asked as her eyes snapped open and she sat up from her place in a tree. She had felt this presence before…several times, really, but this time it was different. It was solid and in an actual form.

Kimiko parked the bike when she finally managed to find the persence at its strongest point. Taking off her helmet she shook out her hair. "Onee-san?" She hissed, "Onee-san!" Rolling her eyes at the lack of answer she picked up a random rock and threw it in a random tree. Nao loved sleeping in trees or anywhere high. Kimiko liked solid ground. At least, that one thing didn't change over the coarse… "Onee-san!"

"By the Goddess…give me chance to get over the shock!" Nao hissed as she jumped from the tree, rubbing a small sore on her forehead from the rock, "You're strength hasn't left you, I see…" she smiled and put the hand on her hip and smiled, "It's wonderful to see you, Kimiko."

"Onee-san," Kimiko smiled at her, "I'm afraid I'm not here because I wished it so. Otherwise, you would be sleeping peacefully." She growled under her breath, "You are being played against. I cannot do anything to protect you." She switched to Japanese, "**Come with us back to the castle. There you can heal up Raphael. He is loosing a ton of blood. Choudai, Onee-san.**"

Nao paled, "Chikushou…I had been in the middle of healing him, but since my work was interrupted so swiftly, that would of course be the case…" she bit her lip and flitted so she was balanced on the back seat of the motorcycle, "Take me there."

Kimiko ran over to the cycle and gave her a helmet. "Don't want you to die." She said as she placed hers on.

Nao eyed the helmet with a raised eyebrow, but shook her head and put it on anyway. Once they were ready, she stayed standing upright, however, as Kimiko zoomed down the streets of Central Park.

Right after she parked the motorcycle at the castle, Kimi turned to Nao. "**Go!**"

Nao already had the helmet off as she jumped down easily from her standing position and went to the door. She paused, "You have to accompany me…they would not like it if I just barged in there…" she bit her lip.

"Shinko…" **True…** Kimiko sighed as she set the helmet down on her seat. She grabbed her sister's arm and took out Donny's Bo and kept it at her side. Among friends there were enemies. All it took was something that made them tick.

Nao followed close behind Kimi as they went to where Donatello's lab was. She avoided the gaze of the other two brothers as they entered and she whispered in Kimi's ear, "Have Leonardo and the orange-masked one leave as well as the other girl," she requested.

"**I don't have that authority.**" Kimiko said softly, "**Hang on…**" she closed her eyes. When she opened them she looked highly confused. Turning to look at Bria and then to the rest of them, she shifted. "This feels weird." She muttered. "Umm….I hate asking requests, because its just not me, but can you guys……um…go?"

Bria stared at the new woman. Her telepathy did not work one smudge on her, so she could not hear the usual silent thoughts, but she did sense something likable about her. She grabbed Leo's arm with the hand that wasn't completely covered in blood, "Come on, Lionheart," she whispered, "Everything will be fine. Don't ask me how I know, I just do."

Rachel bit her lip and then said, "Mikey…sweetie…that means you to…" She hated being mean to Michelangelo. It made her feel guilty and he was a year younger than she was!!

Mikey bit his lip and looked worriedly at Raph. He frowned deeply, but nodded reluctantly and carefully lifted the pressure from the cloth covering his brother's wound. "Alright…" he said and hurried after Bria and Leo. However, as he was about to shut the door, he caught the new girl's eyes. He stopped dead in his tracks.

Nao took a sharp inhale, and swiftly swung her hand toward the door. Her power over Wind shut the door in Mikey's face. She felt herself about to hyperventilate, but she closed her eyes and calmed her heart rate. _'It's entirely possible…'_ she kept thinking as she placed a hand on her chest.

Rachel touched Nao's shoulder. "I'll leave." She said softly, "Unless you wish to see Kimi-chan?"

"Both of you stay," Nao said as she took another breath and opened her eyes. She straitened up and smiled at her before going over to where Lily was cleaning the still pulsing wound. She moved her Cat aside gently and swiftly placed her own hands over the wound. The blood that was flowing went back from whence it came and then the gash started healing from the inside out.

Once she was done, Nao tilted her head as she looked at the unmasked face of the Sai Wielder. She furrowed her brows and then looked up right into the watchful eye of Donatello. From her memories of him, he was extremely protective of his brothers if they were hurt or injured. Like that time with Leonardo at the Battle Nexus Tournament; when he had been poisoned and Usagi, the Samurai Rabbit, had attempted to heal the Leader. She smiled softly; surprised really he hadn't said a word.

"He's lost a lot of blood." Donatello finally leaned forward and stood up. "I'm going to call April and see if she can do a blood transfer. Brother to Brother I mean."

"Iie…" Nao stood straight and looked around the room at the different faces; she knew them all, yet they were strangers to her and she to them; even Lily. She looked back and forth at Rachel and Raphael, and then looked at Don again, "Donatello…would you please allow me to do an experiment? That is, if I explain to you what I have planned?"

Donatello raised an eyebrow, "If you explain," He agreed.

Nao nodded, pleased, "First of all…" she looked at Lily and started with her version of a year ago…On November 4th, the night when she and Lily had both been changed. She ended it with when she had left Lily on the ship and then she looked at Raph, "So…Because of the DNA you all have, it could be possible to change you as well…make you Human."

"So Raph is going to be your lab rat…" Donatello said trying his best not to sound too skeptic. It could happen… "Then who's the donator of blood?"

Nao looked at Rachel immediately, "Would you be?" she asked hopefully.

"Would I donate blood to Raph?" Rachel asked and then she said almost shyly, "If Donatello doesn't have a problem with it…"

Nao looked thoughtfully at Don, "Only reason Raphael's the 'lab rat' – as much as I hate that term – is because he's the one with the blood loss…"

Donatello sighed before rubbing his forehead. "You can go ahead with the experiment as long as Rachel or Brianna says its okay to take blood," Donatello rolled his eyes, "But I'm staying here."

"Of course, I would expect nothing less," Nao nodded with a grin.

"I'll do it," Rachel said quickly looking at the both of them. "Its not like I'm going to faint or anything…I mean…well…that was very lame," she sweatdropped at herself.

Nao chuckled and took the girl's hand, "Come here then, it's going to hurt a bit," she warned as she took off Raphael's elbow pad and was glad Lily was ready with a fresh cloth. Taking a deep breath, always hating this part, she bit her thumb and opened Rachel's vein. After sending a tiny flow of her healing power to Rachel she opened Raph's vein. She pressed both of their arms together and let it all take its course from there.

"When this whole thing is done," Donatello turned to Rachel, "There's a few of us with questions to ask you."

"……Yeah I figured," She sweatdropped, "Seeing how I pretty much never really said anything in the first place."

Lily wiped the excess blood away and she and Nao watched the transfusion carefully. Softly, yet forgetting about the purple-clad turtle and Rachel, they talked about things except for the year that had passed. That would be saved for later. Then, after a good ten minutes, Nao looked at the redhead, "Grit your teeth, don't bite your lip," she ordered.

"Or look away and say nothing," Rachel responded, but did as she was told. She had a feeling, Nao wasn't going to be gentle.

Nao grabbed Rachel's arm tightly, and she had to take a deep breath to calm her flip-flopping stomach before she lengthened her nails and swiped them between the connected arms. The woman grabbed the wounds and healed them before anything major could happen, and then she brought Rachel into a hug as the girl passed out. She sighed, "I figured that would happen…"

Lily winced, but got the cloth and cleaned up the splatters and wiped off their arms. She sighed herself and put Raph's elbow pad back on. This was turning out to be a very long night…

Don sighed, "How long do you think it takes for your experiment to work?"

"No idea," Nao grinned at him, and then placed her head on Rachel's shoulder, "Sorry…Honestly, I would have gladly let you be the first try, Don, knowing how protective you are of them. However, Raph needed the blood."

"I understand," Donatello said. He glanced over at Rachel and then looked over at Nao, "You do realize that we're trusting you just a bit right? We don't know what happened, we saw you holding the Sai. However, until we hear your story and Raph's, we can't trust you a lot."

"Of course not," Nao said, "Though, I can tell you right now that I was holding the Sai because I had just pulled it out of him so I could heal him…Speaking of…" she used her free hand to move aside her cloak and took out the Sai in question. She twirled it and then stopped, handing it out by the handle toward Don.

Don blinked and then took it. He set it down by his brother and then turned to ask Rachel, but realized that she was still unconscious. He smirked slightly before leaning back, "So we wait."

"So we wait," Nao nodded and picked up the girl she had in her arms bridal-style and took her to a chair in the room. She set her in it and then just stood while she turned to Don and told him enough of her story so he would know who she was.


	18. From Turtle to Human

Don't say anything about Casey…how he's jumping around all over the place I do not know…

Enjoy!

Changed

Rachel woke up and quietly listened to Nao's story when she couldn't help but to look over at Raph when she noticed that everything was changing. The shell was disappearing the skin was thinning and coloring to a pale flesh color. His hair was brown and mussed up; if down it could go to his shoulders. When she realized what she was looking at she covered her face reddening.

_'He has such a good build…I SHOULDN'T BE THINKING THIS DAMNIT!'_ She wanted to scream. If she was in an anime, her nose would be bleeding, which tended to always happen when she really didn't want it to.

Nao noticed Rachel's muddled thoughts first and then she glanced over to the lab table. Her eyes widened a bit and she looked away quickly, her cheeks turning bright as well. It had been almost an hour, and Lily had left to get them some water.

"I'm going to call Andrew or Matt," Rachel muttered as she stood up. "One of them should have clothes to borrow."

"Do you think they wouldn't mind?" Don asked as he grabbed a blanket.

"Nah," Rachel shook her head, "Unless you feel comfortable having Casey find clothes."

"I'll call Casey," Don said, "Thanks for offering though."

"No problem……" Rachel smiled as she watched him leave, "They were going to kill me if I did call them anyway."

Nao blinked, "Ok?" she tilted her head. She shook her head and then looked back since Don had placed a blanket over the now Human Raphael. She whistled, "Wow…"

"I know your Kimiko's sister, but please refrain from teasing me until I'm somehow knocked unconscious." Rachel's cheeks hadn't faded the red color yet.

Nao laughed, "Why would I do that? There's no point, your expression is great enough."

"That's good to know." Rachel said as she bowed her head, "After this I'm sleeping. Long and hard and undisturbed…"

"Gotcha," Nao laughed and then patted her shoulder comfortingly.

The door opened and Lily came in. She stopped dead, completely stunned senseless. She blinked rapidly and shook her head as she walked to Rachel and Nao, handing them the two cups she had in her hands, "I won't say a word," she assured Rachel before she just turned and walked back out, but forgot to close the door.

Rachel quickly shut the door before anyone could see what had happened. "They'd demand questions…" She said more to herself than to anyone. "I'd prefer to wait until I'm out of the room for them." Her cheeks turned even more bright red. Dear god.

"Rachel?! Damn it, open this door," Brianna demanded from the other side.

"No!" Rachel shouted, "Trust me. NO!"

"I won't say anything, I just want to know what in the hell is going on!" Bria growled. She had glimpsed bits and pieces from the surface of Lily's mind, "NOW!"

"FINE!" Rachel threw the door open and then said, "You only. Got it?" She grabbed Bria's arm and dragged her in before she shut the door. She was still blushing terribly.

"Got it," Bria managed to say before she first caught sight of Nao. "Fascinating…" the two of them both breathed at the same time. With a gulp, they looked away and she had the fortune to look right at Raphael. "Good lord…" her jaw dropped, "That can't be him…or…is it?"

"It's him," Donatello came back, "I'm not sure whether or not it's fortunate."

"Daaaamn…You guys have one good-lookin' brother…I wonder what the rest of you might look like…" Brianna looked at Don thoughtfully.

Nao stifled her laughter, but just barely.

Donatello merely smiled.

Rachel on the other hand just wanted to die. Just die. Peaceful ground…yeah that sounded nice. Rachel looked at Brianna, "I'm leaving now," She left the room promptly.

"Poor girl…" He watched Rachel leave, "Then again, I'm not sure how much she even saw."

"Probably enough," Bria smiled and then bounced after her sister, "Hey! Rach, I'm sorry, wait!" she called as the door closed behind her.

Nao scratched her cheek; "Wow…" she murmured and then heard a soft groan. She looked over and saw Raph was sitting up, holding his head.

"Don, why do I feel like I was run over by a semi-truck?" Raphael asked his brother.

Donatello explained the best he could about what had happened and everything. "So, now we have two mysteries to solve. Yours and Nao's…" He nodded at each of them respectfully, "and Rachel's."

Raph still hadn't dared look at himself yet. He had decided it was best to wait for Casey before he tried that. Nao was standing in the far corner, watching them both. "I'm not even goin' to go there, yet…" he said.

"You're going to tell them all at once, like I am, aren't you?" Nao asked.

"Yeah…basically," Raph nodded.

"I doubt Rachel will say anything." Donatello admitted as he leaned back. "Seeing what shock she had to overcome today." He couldn't help but to let a tiny smile out. Really, it was amusing.

Raphael only nodded again. She had a shocker? What about him?! He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to stay calm.

"You were not kidding…" Casey opened the door and shut it behind him. "I truly thought you were kidding."

"Do I ever kid about this?" Donatello asked, "If you need more proof Nao is right there…and the still blushing bride is in her room."

Casey stuck his tongue out playfully before tossing a bag over at Raph. "Here. You get to wear it."

Raph deadpanned at the word 'bride'. Why had his brother chosen that word? He caught the bag, and paled as he was forced to look at, at least his hands and arms. **FIVE** fingers…that's what got him. Everything else was fine. He took another calming breath and was about to get up when he saw a streak.

Nao had darted for the door, "I'll leave you guys here…and just go talk with Rachel," she said, not giving them a chance to see her reddened face as she shut the door behind her.

Raphael stared, but shook his head and stood. He put the bag on the table and unzipped it.

"That is nearly the same reaction Rachel had," Don mused, "Only she lasted longer."

There was a pair of baggy pants and a large black tee-shirt. Casey shrugged. "Didn't know what'd fit or not."

"We'll…raid your closet tomorrow, how's that?" Raph said as he took out the outfit and slipped the shirt on first. He had to wear actual clothes during the winter when he went topside, so he was not ignorant of how to get dressed. "It fits great, Case, thanks," he told his friend with a grateful nod.

"Alright," Casey laughed, "No problem. Glad I could help."

"You should look in the mirror," Donatello nodded over at the full length mirror.

Raphael nodded and stepped toward the mirror. He froze and his jaw dropped though he shut it quickly. He turned and shifted, flexing a bit not to show off but to test his new body. "Damn…she really did change me, didn't she?" he blinked as he turned back to the other two.

"Guess whose blood she used to do that?" Don was smirking now.

The once turtle spotted his mask. As he grabbed it and placed it around his unruly hair, Raph asked; "Who?"

"Rachel's," Donatello's smirk turned into a smile, "Amusing all in honesty."

Raph swallowed thickly. Rachel…_Rachel_?! He couldn't believe it…she had really agreed to do the transfusion? "Wow…" was all he could say. He spotted his weapons and after he put on his brown leather strap-thingy he placed his Sai in their proper spots.

"Well, we should go and hang around with the crowd. Explain what happened to you, then go to Nao's case, and then we should see if Rachel didn't knock herself out yet." Don shook his head at that thought.

"Gotcha," Raphael chuckled and then rotated his shoulder, making it pop. He smirked…he rather liked this new body of his. As his brother and Casey joined him, Don opened the door and he raised an eyebrow as his best friend did a sort of cheesy announcement thing…

"Ladies and Gents!" Casey called out, "Please meet the new Raphael!!!"

Yeah…pretty cheesy…

Raph sweatdropped, "You did _not_ just do that…" he sighed as he walked out into the light of the Living Room.

The only ones that had no idea what happened was Leonardo and Michelangelo and their mouths had dropped. That was their brother? It was a no wonder why Rachel suddenly had ran out of the room blushing so hotly. "Geez, bro," Leo said as he finally snapped himself out of it, "You look great."

Raph rubbed the back of his neck, tinting pink, "Thanks…I guess," he didn't need to feel comforted very long, though, because always-reliable Mikey broke in with his comments.

Michelangelo started with the hair first, "Oh come on, what's with the whacked-out hairdo and bandana look? You do know you just made it worse by covering it up, right? And what's with that outfit? The pants do not go well with the shirt, bro."

"A fashion-catcher aren't cha?" Leonardo teased Mikey.

"Are you _gay_ or something?" Bria asked as she stepped out to join them, towing Rachel along with her, "Only gay people comment on fashion…you did know that, right?" She gave a thumbs-up with her free hand, "Lookin' hot, Raph!"

"I am not gay!" Mikey looked stricken, "The artist was, I am not."

Brianna rolled her eyes and then pushed Rachel in front of her toward Raphael, "_Go on!_ It won't be even half as bad as you might think!" she whispered/hissed to her sister.

Rachel just blushed hotly but even more so when she had to face Raphael. She was frozen. She could hear her heart pounding. She could feel it too, she was so nervous. "You…you look great." She said as she started playing with her fingers, "Really."

Raph only had time to blink as Rach rammed into him. The force knocked him down and his eyes widened when – as they had fallen – their lips had locked. He now had a hand on either of her arms since he _had_ attempted to catch her. His mind was quick to register what was going on though he himself was lost. Honestly, the only thing running through his thoughts were _'YES!!!'_

Rachel was horror-stricken. Everyone was quiet, waiting for either the kiss to deepen or for someone to pull away and declare something. Rachel's blushing increased yet decreased a bit. The kiss……as simple as it was, made her heart completely stop and butterflies started playing in her stomach. She couldn't believe it. Not. One. Bit.

After a few seconds, Raphael caught the drift and he moved his hands so one was at the back of her head and the other went down to her waist. He completely ignored Casey and Mikey…his only focus was on the woman in his arms.

"And they teased us for how long?" Leonardo asked Bria with a slight smile.

Brianna smiled back, "The whole entire year since first we met till today."

"We should save the questioning of Rachel's mystery for another day," Donatello told Nao, "Don't really want to ruin this."

"Heck no," Nao grinned.

Raphael was so freakin' tempted to deepen the kiss, but had no idea how well that would go over with Rachel, so he just waited for her to do something. He'd only been human for what…less than fifteen minutes? Like hell he was going to ruin his good mood and good _luck_ because of really wired-up teen hormones.

Rachel carefully pulled away, blushing a deep red, "You know." She had to hold herself in check so she wouldn't start laughing, "I really, really do think we jinxed ourselves."

"How so?" Raph asked blinking a bit to try and clear the haze.

"Teasing Leo and Bria," Rachel said bluntly. "I always knew they were out to get me. Just didn't know this was the plan's outcome." Her blush went up a bit and she scrambled up and held her hand out to him. "You need to tell your story right?"

"Come on! That is so not fair," Casey called out to them, "Leave us hanging why don't ya?!"

Raphael shot Casey a warning glance and accepted Rachel's help. Once he was standing he answered her, "I guess so, yeah."

Bria blinked, "Whoa…I do _not_ think Raph knows the new intensity he has behind his looks now," she scratched her nose nervously. She hadn't been the one he had directed his look at, but she still felt the heat.

"That's true," Leo smirked, "Then again, he always had power behind his glares. Part of his boyish charm…" He rolled his eyes and then turned to Donatello, "Guessing your still going to ask?"

"Every single question I got." He smirked at Leo, "I was really considering about just talking about it tomorrow, but Rachel did offer."

"…" Rachel just sighed.

"Crud…" Raph sighed and held onto Rachel's hand as he led her to the couch and sat her down.


	19. The Hybrid

The Hybrid

_It all started when April got kidnapped about a year ago. While my bros and I were saving her, I saw this girl who's in front of us now. Who is she? WHAT is she; turtle, cat, or human? More importantly…HOW DOES SHE KNOW US?_

--

Nao watched everyone move toward the seats and she sweatdropped when she was the only one left standing in the middle of the room. She shifted, "So, I guess I'm first to start, correct?"

"That would be nice," Brianna nodded and so did Lily.

"I'd like it," Donatello said simply, "Just because I'm curious."

Mikey just shrugged as well, "It's obvious that you know us," he said. "But we don't know you. I kind of think its…fair."

Rachel raised an eyebrow but kept her mouth shut.

Nao smiled apologetically, "Would you like me to start with that night, Angelo?" she asked softly catching his eye. Blue to blue.

"Yeah," Mikey nodded, "That's a good place to start."

"Very well…" Nao closed her eyes and launched off from that night where she had connected with Michelangelo from across the ocean, in Japan, during that fight that started it all for her. She explained about the bandana, promptly taking it off and then flipping the Foot symbol around and then placing it back over her brow. She continued, telling how she woke three days later, in the TGRI lab.

"A TGRI?" Donatello looked shocked yet unsurprised at the same time, "Their security is maxed. You should still be in there."

"The Foot took control of it around two years ago…I was 16," Nao told him. She explained about the passed experiments…how that was how Azami came to be the person she was now. She told about blood, how it combined with the ooze, and then told about her change as best she could. "So, I guess I'm a Hybrid now…Cat, Turtle, and Human…" she shifted.

"All three at once," Donatello murmured, "Amazing."

With a chuckle, she nodded and then finished off the story involving what happened in the TGRI building. "So, now, it no longer exists. I destroyed every little bit of it," Nao smirked proud of herself.

"Dang…" Everyone glanced at each other.

"I can't believe it," Rachel said as she leaned back. Her face had pure hate in it, "That's just sick. Experiments? I don't think that's even allowed on Japanese Territory! They could get killed for it…if they aren't already."

"That's sad..." Bria stared at her sister, "Have you paid attention at all? The Foot is a secret society, so of course they wouldn't get found out."

"Hai…" Nao nodded, "Experimenting not allowed, of course, in Japan. To the outside world, the TGRI building seemed deserted."

"Seemed deserted? You mean they still use it?!" Rachel asked, looking half shocked, and half horrified.

Nao bowed her head in exasperation while everyone else deadpanned. "Iie!" she sighed and rubbed her forehead, "Weren't you listening? I destroyed the damned place."

"Seemed…past tense," Bria added after she composed herself.

"Putting that aside, because I'm confused…" Rachel used some sort of weird gesture as if she was putting aside, "If you were in Japan, what lead you to New York? Or is that just another stupid question?"

"Actually…no," Nao told her, "The Foot in Japan no longer exists. My goal to completely beat it down to dust was successful. The ones who survived and joined me now watch over Japan; protect it instead of destroying it. I heard about the Foot here in New York City...remembered it from your memories," she nodded to Don, Raph, and Leo, "That is what brought me and ten of my men here."

That's when Rachel's eyebrows furrowed. Kimiko was saying something. "Then you're declaring war?" She asked finally.

"If I have to, hai… However, I hope that will not be the case," Nao informed her.

Rachel's eyes closed just a bit and everyone heard in a different language…Japanese, "**Another war, possibly…**" Her eyes opened and the girl's legs crossed. "**However, what I'm worried about is whether or not the Foot acts first.**"

"It seems they already have..." Master Splinter broke in. They all turned and saw him near the door, the ten 'Foot' Nao had 'fought' with behind him. "These young men have informed me they are here for you, Miss Nao."

Nao stood to attention, "Daisuke! Atsushi! Did you catch the man I sent you after?"

"Hai and he did not escape us," Atsushi bowed. He walked in and the others followed.

"We caught a few of the others as well," Daisuke told her, "They fought with us, but you only told us to get rid of that one, so we let them go."

"**And forget me why don't you?**" Kimiko said in pure Japanese. "**Sushi-kun, Dai-kun.**" She had a teasing smile on her face, "**Very honor-bound aren't you?**"

"Kimiko-san?!" the two stared, "That's not possible…"

"Kimi-chan!" One of them cried out, "You're still alive!!"

"Umm…No, technically I'm dead Ryuu-kun. Everyone else is new…" Kimiko muttered, "I only know you three." She glared at Nao, "I'm guessing I was replaced and wasn't told?"

Nao was hurt. She furrowed her brows, "Iie…Never…"

"I'm teasing, Nao-chan," She stood up and hugged her sister. "Gomen…" She said, "Although it's interesting." She turned to the people, "Why are there new people?"

"They were a part of the Foot clan," Nao repeated, "They decided to join me."

"Ahhh," Kimiko looked at them, "Alright then…" She then noticed some looks she was getting and then said quickly. "Don't mind me; I'm just a friend of a friend…of a close friend." She really hated that 'Spilt Personality' term some people used. "Really confusing, don't bother asking."

"You do realize that if everyone found out that you used…"

"They're about to know if you don't shut up Ryuu-kun," Kimiko stuck her tongue out before going back to sit down.

Nao chuckled and nodded to them, "Go, my friends, and find the HQ of the Foot for me. Monitor it, get as close as you can without killing yourselves because of the security defenses. Report to me on the communicators if anything happens or if you hear things that would be an indication of a…war."

"Hai, Nao-san," Everyone said and they left as quickly as they came.


	20. Alliance

The part about her not originally Japanese is mostly because her eyes are different. They change colors, if any of you have noticed. I'm still trying to figure out where she did come from, though o.O maybe anybody could give me suggestions? I'm concidering the Utram (sp?)...but I have no idea.

Alliance

Kimiko sweatdropped, "Now this must arise even more questions…"

"Probably…" Nao shook her head and then caught the eye of Casey and Raphael, "The fake fight?" she asked.

"The fake fight."

Nao sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, "Well…the Fake Fight was just in case we accidentally caught the attention of the real Foot this morning…We arrived on the 2nd, and were out in daylight today." She waved her hand, showing that detail was unimportant.

"So…what would have happened, if nothing like this ever had happened and we were still out there fighting with you?" Casey asked, "Then what was your goal? Run away? Ask questions?"

"I was not intending to meet you all tonight," Nao admitted, "I would have noticed something was wrong if we had continued fighting, and then I would have knocked out the 15 that had snuck in, going by their unfamiliar ki. Raph, if you had been hurt, I would have healed you completely, with no need to do to you what we did here."

Silence filled the room. Kimiko let out a whistle, "That would have saved a bunch of time, at the same time…" She gestured helplessly, "You have to admit, it took them a year. Maybe it wasn't a plan that gone wrong but the future? I'm not sure I'm just running my mouth. Shutting up!"

Nao laughed, "I miss your rambling, it's alright," she chuckled, "It could have been the plan as well as the future."

"That's where my next question lies," Donatello said finally, "How do you know Rachel? Or…Kimiko as you call her."

Kimiko just sweatdropped and said in third person, "Kimiko is Kimiko because she's Kimiko. There isn't any secret in that."

Nao giggled, but then her smile turned sad, "I am not originally from Japan. I moved there when I was 5 from…Actually, I don't remember where. My life's a haze before then…" she sat down on the floor. She could stand for hours, but she felt weaker than normal tonight. "I moved to Kyoto, Japan, and met Kimiko there. She was quite the tomboy, really…Braver, bolder, than what I'm seeing now…"

"That's because I wound up with a girl." Kimiko sighed, "A no self-confidence, quick learner, and…really, really idiotic girl." She blinked, "Yeah. She agrees. Although she denies the idiot part. But I think it suits her."

"I never said she was an idiot…" Nao shook head and continued, "We connected right away, and soon met Daisuke and Atsushi after that. Time passed…we had many adventures, usually going to wander about the country...to test our 'survival skills'…" she chuckled at the memories, "Then, when we were about 10, Daisuke and Atsushi disappeared. Little did we know, they had been taken to become Foot.

"Six months later, we met Ryuu. However…when we became 12, he disappeared as well to have the same fate…" Nao placed a hand over her eyes, "Then…three months after that…Everyone else started turning their backs on me. School was hell…the friends I had made started scorning me, leaving me out of things…"

"Ooh, you had no idea." Kimiko looked like she was going to do a mocking fright thing. "The Elite actually went around saying that if we didn't leave her, our fates 'wouldn't be good'. In my definition your fate is either good, or bad. Depending on what you do," she sighed as she leaned back in the chair.

"Hai…" Nao sighed, "I remember…you turned on them one day during P.E. and nearly screamed your lungs out, telling them how cowardly and dishonorable they were," she smiled ruefully.

"I got stoned for it on the way back home if I remember correctly," Kimiko was smiling, "Ah, that was fun. It was a rock war. Sixteen or ten vs. One."

"You sound as if you had fun in that," Donatello said looking shocked.

"What can I say?" Kimiko smiled, "It was."

Nao actually laughed, "That's what I mean…braver, bolder, more outgoing…"

"Willing to do things?" Brianna asked.

"Hai," Nao smiled.

Kimiko blinked, "I was more outgoing, braver and bolder when I was outside. You, Donny-kun, heard me mention a Matt and an Andrew right?" Donatello nodded. "Friends of mine…Only ones that didn't care that a girl could actually do their job. Gave me a place to stay and stuff; stole files and information. An Informer if you will. Really fun. Unfortunately, you had to have a guise just in case something happened. An alibi."

Kimiko laughed a bit. "So, I made Rachel find an abandoned building and turn it into a shop. You guys know the rest."

"That still doesn't explain you," Donatello said, "I mean, how can you make someone if your you?"

"Ohh, you want to know if I'm a ghost controlling Rachel or if I'm Kimiko going by the name Rachel." Kimiko nodded, "That makes sense why you're confused…Rest assured, Rachel is Rachel and Kimiko is Kimiko. No alias, no funky wizardy-witchy spooky I don't know what," She told him, "You would call me a 'Split Personality'."

"Soul Jumping," Nao chuckled.

"Yeah…usually when one Soul Jumps they make sure the person's dead first. I was an idiot for not looking, and being impatient. I met her around when she was……gosh……twelve? Eleven? Somewhere in that age…"

"May I finish my story?" Nao smiled rather amused at how Kimi had taken her story-telling over.

"Sorry!" Kimiko blushed furiously, "You can continue."

Laughing, Nao closed her eyes, "Well…that night Kimi came to my home. She was defying the Elite's orders, and to those who ran on the streets most of the time - including the two of us – that was a huge offence. She was scared out of her mind, breathless since she had been running. She had cuts and bruises all over her…her parents had heard what had happened and had kicked her out."

"That was not the best," Kimiko scowled, "Yeah…sour."

Nao continued like there had been no interruption, "We packed supplies into bags, as much as we could in 10 minutes, and we left, trying to run away, to leave…that's when everything spiraled downhill…The Elite found us, and…" she bent over and put her head on her folded arms, "She was killed right there in front of me."

"Yeah…" Kimiko's voiced trailed off, "That wasn't the……best day of my life."

"Now I'm still…even to this day, scared of the Elite," Nao lifted her head and wiped her eyes of tears that had started to fall, "After that night, I didn't see them. I think they're back here, in New York."

Lily nodded, "That's for sure…a month after I had been here they showed up during a patrol and nearly took out Donny and me…"

"Well," Kimiko sighed as she leaned back in the chair, "All is done." She looked at everyone and then said, "Any questions?"

Donatello shook his head, "Just one. Do you always pop out of nowhere randomly?"

"Oh come on," Kimiko laughed, "Live a little. A surprise here and there, but no not just randomly……well that actually sort of depends on random."

Donatello frowned and then said, "Why are the Elite so set on keeping Nao away from everyone?"

"Simple…to keep her spirit broken," Lily actually was the one to answer him.

Nao pinched the bridge of her nose, "I thrive on protecting my friends…but if I had no one to protect, what was there to thrive on? If my spirit was broken, I did not have the will to fight back. When I found Lily as a kitten that changed. She became my Familiar, my guide; I found myself again, and started to rebel."

"Her powers are strong," Kimiko said. "Can heal and fix anything to everything. If you keep everyone away and kill me again, how far do you think they will go until they finally break her to make her do what they want?" She shook her head, "Allow me to be blunt… Nao-chan's powerful, more than I am. To lose and get that power, that will increase their chances of winning anything they wished."

"So, what's your plan if war happens?" Donatello asked Nao, "War between you and the Elite?"

"That's a good question…" Kimiko turned to Nao with a teasing smile on her face, "What is your plan?"

"Like I said, I am hoping there is no war…but that actually seems inevitable…" Nao bit her lip, "I have no plan. If there is a war, I would probably ask for the rest of the former Foot to start training over there in Japan and be ready when called upon. I did not exactly think that far ahead…but, yes, possibly war between myself and the Elite."

"I'm in!" Kimiko raised her hand. Everyone just stared at her. "What?" She blinked.

Nao smiled, "Arigato, Kimi."

Kimiko happily placed her hand down, "No problem, sis."

"Count me in, too," Lily grinned her Neko ears twitching.

Nao chuckled and nodded her thanks. She looked at the brothers, Brianna, and Casey, "You just met me tonight, so I will not ask for your help as well," she told them.

"Eh, what the shell, I've been too lazy lately," Bria grinned, "I'll help. Who knows, it might be fun."

"Rachel's in shock," Kimiko giggled, "I don't think she agreed with this whole thing, but guess what?" She grinned, "I'm forcing her. Yay!"

Nao laughed, "Arigato, arigato," she giggled.

"Seriously," Casey stared at Kimiko, "I met tons of crazy girls, but your the most insane."

"…" Kimiko blinked, "I have no idea how to respond to that."

Bria bit her lip, attempting not to laugh. She couldn't help a chuckle, though.

"I'll help only if these guys do," Casey nodded over at the brothers.

"I'm in," Donatello said.

"So am I," Leo agreed.

"Like Bria said, it could be fun," Mikey said with a grin, "So I'm in, too."

"You got them wrapped around you fingers, don't you?" Nao raised an eyebrow looking at Lily and Bria.

"Yup," the two grinned.

Raphael laughed, "Why not? I'll join in," he grinned.

"Then I'm in, too," Casey shrugged, "But just to be on the safe side, you're insane, and I hope we don't run into each other often."

"In wars, sweet, you're going to," Kimiko smiled, "But don't worry I won't make a mistake that kills you."

"For some reason I don't find that comforting…" Casey sweatdropped.

Nao stared at them all, but a wide smile was plastered on her face. Her eyes sparkled, "Thank you, so much, all of you."

"No problem," Kimiko grinned, "You would have done the same, Onee-san."

"Entirely correct, I would have," Nao grinned back and stood. She felt like a weight had lifted from her shoulders. She glanced at her watch randomly and her eyes widened, "Daaang…It's passed 2 o' clock…" she bit her lip and shifted. She had no where to go to sleep…she and the rest of them had slept on roofs or in abandoned buildings the whole time they had been there.

"You can have my room," Kimiko sad to Nao softly, "Don't worry about it."

"Then where will you sleep?" Nao frowned.

"On the couch," Kimiko said, "On the floor, possibly on the stairs."

"Not on my watch," Raph told her stubbornly, "You can sleep in my room."

Brianna couldn't help but smirk.

Kimiko blinked and then said, "And what are you going to do?"

"Leo and Bria have been sleeping in the same room since the first night they met..." Raph muttered, "Why not us?" he added in a whisper.

Bria glanced at Leonardo, her smirk wider.

Leo's smile went wide as Kimiko's cheeks flushed a red color. "Why not?" She asked finally, "As long as you don't mind, I'm game. No problem."

"You don't seem to have any problems…" Casey noted.

"Aren't I lucky?" She teased Casey.

Casey rolled his eyes.

Nao had watched as everyone else had gotten up from their seats. She stepped over next to Michelangelo, "This is absolutely fascinating…Should I expect more of this?" she asked him.

Raphael smirked as he stood also and pulled Rachel up with him, "Come on, then," he grinned and guided her along gently.

"Al…alright," Rachel had just closed her eyes for a second when he had said that.

Mikey started laughing, "You should really expect more of them arguing, Leo and Bria laughing, and Donatello trying to be a peacemaker. However, when we train watch out for Bria. Rachel sticks with me or Raph. Mostly Raph…sometimes me," he shrugged, "So, all in all, expect the unexpected."

"I'm good at that…though I suspect I'll still be surprised," Nao raised an eyebrow as she watched Leo and Bria walk off in another direction. She found herself following Mikey as he walked, "Why do I have to watch out for Brianna?" she tilted her head.

"Because she's strong…" Michelangelo replied, "Strong and fast. Rachel……she tries. Trust me she does, but she's more of a lover than a fighter," he sighed.

"Strong and fast…" Nao mused, "Interesting…" she stopped when they reached Mikey's door. She shifted and looked at the other doors, "Which one's Kimi's?" she asked. She really didn't want to be left by herself…but she would just have to grit and bear it.

"This one," Mikey opened the door, "It's a mess…" He rolled his eyes good naturedly, "Then again, she barely has time to clean. I'm never going to get used to the fact that Rachel has a different personality." He turned to Nao, "Just the same as I'm never going to get used to the fact that you saved my brother."

"I forgot to thank you for it," Mikey smiled, "So thanks. For saving him. Annoying as he is."

Nao studied him thoughtfully, "You're the youngest…then Donatello, Raphael, and Leonardo…" she noted, "He has a quick temper…I know. So when you annoy him you quarrel. Though…you love each other through all that, and have a bond that the others do not understand. I saw how frightened you were back in the lab…You didn't want to leave him…" she smiled knowingly, "It was an honor to save your brother, Angelo."

"Yeah," Mikey said with a smile, "Um…we better get some sleep. I'm next door, in case you were wondering…" He pointed at his room, "Well, night…"

Nao chuckled, "Goodnight, Angelo. Sleep well…" she paused before she went inside, "Oh, just a random question…what time do you guys usually get up?"

"Rachel sleeps until Eleven, Bria wakes up with Leo around Eight or nine, like the rest of us," Mikey shrugged, "All variety."

"Dawn, then, sound good…around 6 or so…" Nao mused as she went inside and shot him a smile, "Night!" she told him and then shut the door behind her.

What a night…

THIS STORY IS OFFICIALLY OVER!! I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED!! Please, those of you who have been following along, you know who you are, I would like revies from you!


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